A major city like Ulan Batar was not commonly seen in the Exiled Grounds. The size of the city was nothing to be scoffed at, with plenty of skyscrapers shooting up to the skies. However, it was not as orderly as other locations in the Law Realm. It was as if these large buildings were all erected at will, completely ignoring if they would be blocking out the sun or otherwise.
“The Exiled Grounds is such a place where the lack of a governing body means the fists do the talking. It’s very simple for anyone who wishes to build a house in the city. As long as they have the ability to snatch enough land and hire people for construction, besides the local gangsters who will charge protection fees, they needn’t pay for taxes or any such costs. The more chaotic the city, the more serious the situation.
“Your average citizen will find it difficult living in the city without a powerful figure protecting them, so there are few cities in the Exiled Grounds to speak of. Most would much rather live on some deserted planets. Though there aren’t any convenient facilities around, they’ll at least be able to keep their lives intact; it’s not uncommon to be in a situation where the companion whom you’re just chatting with yesterday to suddenly be reduced into a desiccated corpse today.”
Standing by a hill beyond the city, Seth pointed to a huge building with a square roof and said, “That is where the mercenaries of Ulan Batar gather. Not just merchants, even the various major forces have a need for warriors. The average citizen will also hire one or two mercenaries as bodyguards when going out. Though they’re practically useless when bumping into somebody strong, the citizen will at least have a sense of security. Here in the Exiled Grounds, mercenaries have already penetrated all aspects of life and are acknowledged as indispensable existences.”
Xia Fei nodded. The Exiled Grounds was ultimately formed by the banished tribes and clans from the circle, and not everyone had the prowess to become a warrior. It was very normal for commoners to seek experts for protection.
“If we head west and make our way past that mountain, we’ll reach a bamboo forest. That highly skilled impersonator I mentioned before lives in that bamboo forest, so let’s hope that he happens to be home today,” Seth said.
Xia Fei used his cloak and wrapped his body up tightly. Because there would often be people from the two peak races who did business with the Exiled Grounds, reselling prohibited information or goods, and given that he had a bounty of a million crystals on his head, it was better for him to avoid revealing his face in highly populated areas.
“What’s the name of the impersonator?” Xia Fei asked.
“Hyacinth.”
“That’s a good name, though a little effeminate,” Xia Fei casually commented.
“Hyacinth is just his codename. Because he’s too good at disguising himself, no one knows his actual name or age despite being in this line of work for thirty years. That’s the only name he’s known by,” Seth explained.
Xia Fei smiled. “What an exceptional individual? Guess I’ll be widening my knowledge today.”
…
The bamboo forest was green and pristine, with bamboo shoots that were just little sproutlings, which gave off a light scent of fresh greenery. It was a very appetizing smell, and Xia Fei would have asked Pod to prepare for him a dish of stir-fried pork and bamboo shoots if he was around to satiate his appetite. Unfortunately, his robot was currently accompanying Avril back in the Hidden Realm, and Xia Fei was bad at cooking like most men, so all he could do was look.
The winding path had been covered by a thick layer of fallen leaves, and the entire forest was quiet except for the sound of the birds chirping and the rustling of leaves.
The path had plenty of forks, and this was the first time Seth had been here, so it did not take long for him to get lost, his forehead sweating profusely.
Xia Fei pointed in the direction of the setting sun and said, “This way.”
“Do you know the way?” Seth asked, surprised.
“Nope. It’s just my intuition.”
Seth was speechless. Xia Fei was an expert in his eyes, yet he was an expert who enjoyed doing things according to his intuition. It was hard to know which way to go in such a large bamboo forest through intuition, let alone find a lone person. Seth shook his head and followed Xia Fei.
Soon, Seth’s eyes shone. “I remember now! Hyacinth’s house is really near here. Master, your intuition is really sharp!”
Xia Fei softly replied, “The aura of wild beasts is present in every direction, and the only unusually peaceful place is this one. Since Hyacinth is an expert, those wild beasts must be avoiding him, so I chose to head this way.”
Seth nodded his head repeatedly, doing his best to flatter Xia Fei.
After taking a few more turns, the forest revealed a fence which had pink morning glory climbing over it. The gate to the courtyard was hidden, and Xia Fei could see three simple thatched houses made from bamboo. Furthermore, there was a well on the property and a set of stone tables with benches.
“Great Master Hyacinth! I am Seth. I once had the pleasure ten years ago of meeting you!”
Seth entered through the gate and searched for traces of Hyacinth everywhere. He circled the three thatched houses and returned to Xia Fei with a look of disappointment, shrugging. “Hyacinth isn’t around. He’s probably out on a mission.”
Xia Fei smiled, his eyes trained on Seth. “The master truly lives up to his name as a top impersonator. Such superb skills!”
“Master, what are you saying? I’m Seth. I’ve only been gone for a bit, so how could you have not recognized me?” Seth asked, completely panicking.
“I don’t know who you are, but I know you’re not Seth.” Xia Fei lit a cigarette, his voice soft and composed.
“I really am Seth; didn’t you have issues with my breath, so you got me to wear this mask and air-purification gear? Here, let me take it off!” Seth somewhat nervously said. The moment he took his mask off, he revealed a mouth of yellowing teeth. His breath was so heavy that it nearly caused the bamboo to bend over.
“You ought to believe me now, right? I really am Seth. Hyacinth isn’t in, so why don’t we continue waiting for him?” Seth asked.
Xia Fei shook his head and slowly pulled out the scarlet dagger, Blood Crystal, from his spatial ring!
“Seth, since you’re my slave, then you’d better be cognizant that you must be ready to die at any time. Right now, I suddenly have a great urge to kill you,” Xia Fei said with a smile.
“Master, just what have I done wrong, for you to desire my death? I… I refuse to resign to this!” Seth took two steps back and leaned against the fence, gazing at Xia Fei with a pale face.
Xia Fei did not say another word. With his eyes exuding a measure of killing intent, he slowly approached Seth.
“If you were to kill me, who’d bring you to look for Hyacinth? I simply refuse to believe that you’d be such a heartless person, master!” Seth shouted angrily, his two fists clenched as he stared right into Xia Fei’s two eyes.
Xia Fei shrugged. “You’d better believe it then. I’ve never been reasonable when it comes to killing people.”
Seth still refused to believe what was happening, believing that this was Xia Fei testing him. As such, he puffed out his chest and steeled himself.
*Whoosh*
The red dagger went right for Seth!
As the blade flashed, Seth was utterly stunned. He originally thought that this was merely a test, that it was all a joke, but it was too bad that he did not understand Xia Fei at all. He had never been someone who would joke around when it came to killing people, and since he stated that he was going to kill Seth, he would really do just that!
Doubt, shock, and fear!
That instant of fear Seth felt caused his pupils to dilate as that sharp dagger edge aimed for his throat!
Unreasonable! Completely unreasonable!
Even if Xia Fei thought that he was not Seth, there was no need for him to go for a lethal kill!
At such a point, Seth did not even have time to cry. He quickly squatted and used his escape technique! The martial technique of the Law of Matter: concealed figure!
Xia Fei smirked sinisterly. He had ascertained that this person in front him was definitely not Seth! This was because the Crag Defense that Seth was most proud of did not surface!
The reason why defense-type warriors were powerful was the fact that their special abilities and laws were completely autonomous! This allowed them to coordinate with the practitioners’ attacks and defenses actively, and for Seth not to have activated his Crag Defense at such a critical juncture and, instead, rely on a Law of Matter evasion technique was proof enough that this one was not Seth himself!
“Crafty Approach!”
The fake Seth burrowed into the ground; it even looked like he would get away. Too bad Xia Fei’s Crafty Approach was even faster than how fast he could flee!
*Kaboom*
With a sweep of his toes, Xia Fei used one leg to kick away the soil and directly kicked the fake Seth out from the ground! His entire person was in mid air!
With a light tap of both his feet, Xia Fei went hurtling into the air and struck Seth’s chest with a single wave of his hand!
He did not exert much strength in this one attack, but Xia Fei’s palm happened to have touched two lumps of soft and bouncy flesh. It felt strange to the touch.
*Bang*
The fake Seth fell from the sky. The ground was still moist from yesterday’s rain, so a puddle of mud formed. Xia Fei saw as the imposter let out a gasp and plunged head-first into the mud, looking as soiled as a mangy mutt caked in mud.
*Splash*
Xia Fei landed from the air and clutched onto Seth’s collar, grabbing the other out from the mud, lifting him up like he was a baby chick.
However, upon closer inspection, he saw that the figure of the dirty Seth became a lot smaller, and his limbs also turned more and more slender, like that of an older child. His skin was pale and pristine, with a slight purple hue to them. That stinky breath was gone, too, and in its place was a faint fragrance, which was intermingled with the smell of mud. All in all, it was a very interesting and strange combination.
“A girl?” Xia Fei was in shock. This fake Seth had revealed himself to actually be a young girl who was still undergoing puberty. Her two small hands were hurriedly wiping the muddy stains off her face, revealing a pair of big clear eyes. Even her pupils were purple, which was a mysterious yet peculiar color.
Xia Fei was very close to her, and he could tell through the girl’s labored breathing, that she lacked the horrid stench of Seth’s bad breath!
“Crap!” Xia Fei felt unsettled. No matter what the situation was, bullying a little girl felt wrong, not to mention someone as small and young as the one before him.
A single glance and Xia Fei could tell that the girl was on the verge of tears. He hurriedly let her go, pondering over just what sort of words should he say to console her when Furball suddenly angrily jumped out.
Though Xia Fei did not like the fact that Furball had become even smaller than before, spending all his time just sleeping in Xia Fei’s bosom, the beast would be flustered and instantly wake up when he realized Xia Fei was in the midst of the battle.
Fighting with his master was one thing, but disturbing the great Furball from his nap on top of that was a disaster; the little girl had essentially committed two of Furball’s biggest taboos, and as a Holy Beast, he of course knew nothing about the notion of being graceful to the fairer sex. He jumped out and roared loudly at this little lady!
*Awoooo*
Furball was ultimately a Holy Beast despite his small size, and the sound of his direct roar caused the little girl’s hair to stand on end. The entire bamboo forest could clearly hear that roar from Furball.
Xia Fei hurriedly covered his mouth, but it was already too late.
The girl had been frightened stiff by Furball. Never in her wildest dream did she expect that the cute ball, no bigger than a peanut, would be so scary when angered!
Blinking her big eyes, the lady finally bawled out in tears. A heart wrenching wail echoed and distressed Xia Fei immensely.
“Why’re you so unreasonable? I was only playing a prank on you, yet you actually wanted to kill me!
“How have I offended you?! I hate you. Hate you hate you hate you hate you!
“You’re a baddie! A big baddie!”
“Father, uncle, where are you two! There’s a baddie here bullying your daughter! Do either of you care at all?”
*Swish*
A black figure darted out from one of the houses and appeared beside the little lady. This was a teenager, approximately fourteen or fifteen years of age, who held her. His eyebrows were as thick as broad strokes from a paintbrush, and though he was deathly afraid as well, he still demonstrated the air of an adult, protecting the young girl.
Xia Fei was a little vexed. He did not know what he ought to say.
The old demon lord swallowed a mouth of spit as he gloated gleefully, “Haha! You’ve beaten up Hyacinth’s little girl? Guess I’m in for a good show now!”
