Chương 181: Eternal Lament (VII)

There was a rather pretty flower coming out of the ground, surrounded by snow. It was strange, how red it was against the white around it, making it stand out even more. She crouched and tilted her head, examining it for a moment before suddenly shooting back up to her feet. No! No distractions! Light puffed her chest and continued walking down the road, her bright eyes examining every inch with a fading trace of curiosity.

The entire place was rundown and collapsing, though she still found it cute in certain places. Like how all the rooftops had different colors because they were patched with different materials. Or how there were no fences and everyone seemed to share the entire land. She'd pause rather frequently, taking a closer look at whatever grabbed her attention before suddenly remembering that she was on a mission. That was right! On a mission!

All the others treated her like a child, and though it came with benefits (free headpats and lots of yummy things), she wanted to show them that she was also strong! And clever! The closer she got to the barracks, however, the more they bothered her.

"Hey, little girl! Are you lost?" And,"Hey, little girl. What are you doing out? It's dangerous!" And,"Damn kids; the hell ye' doin' out here? Where is that dumb father of yours?" Light halted for a moment and turned her gaze toward the last speaker; she didn't care for how he looked or who he was or why he said what he said. She merely glanced at him, letting an invisible trace of Qi leave her, and moved on. Before midnight, he would melt into sludge of flesh and bones. That was what he deserved!

Only she and nobody else was allowed to call Master a dummy! In fact, before she reached the barracks, she'd done the same thing to six others. How dare they?! They don't know the Master at all, and they curse him so openly! Humph! This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. She sneered inwardly at their stupidity; a bunch of barbaric nobodies stuck up a mountain want to criticize her great Master? She was doing them the favor, really, saving them from their own stupidity!

The barracks was massive --from her vantage point, it was like a looming leviathan, and it reminded her of those tall pavilions that she was struggling to remember fully. Without skipping a beat, she entered, her eyes roaming; there were fewer people in there, as most were going back to their homes when she came across them, but, luckily, the man calling himself the 'Captain' was still there, engrossed in drinking something while a slew of other men talked around him.

From the moment she saw the man, Light felt something... unsettling. It was like there wasn't a man in front of her, but chaotic energy pretending to be one. Even now, she had to take a deep breath to calm down; ever since the Master had taken her to that chamber, she'd become more... sensitive to different energies. And that husk? It contained over a dozen of them, most of which she couldn't even recognize.

"Eh? Who let this kid in? You guys know who's the kid?"

"Hm? Isn't she the daughter of that newcomer? What's she doing here?"

"Maybe she snuck out?"

"Someone, take her back quickly!" She ignored the ruckus and went up to the main table, struggling to jump up and sit on top of it as they all stared at her oddly, as though she were doing the most unusual thing in the world.

"I want to buy papa a present!"

"... huh?"

"His birthday is coming up," she said, reaching into the pocket of her tiny robe and pulling out some old, disheveled coins and tossing them on the table.

"And I want to buy him a present!"

"What... present?"

"That!" She pointed at a horn hanging on the wall; it looked smooth yet old, though that wasn't why she wanted it. Rather, one of the reasons she 'volunteered' was precisely that horn--it contained Demonic Qi.

"Clavax's horn?" one of the men said.

"That's a priceless thing, lil' girl. Ain't no coins you could put out to buy it!"

"Are you the owner?" She looked over at him. At the same time, her Qi stirred invisibly--it was one of the properties of being a direct Inheritor, more so after the chamber 'purified her'. Besides the weird Senior Brother Tao, nobody else--not even Junior Sister Wan Lan--could sense when she was using it.

"E-eh?"

"Pfft, ha ha ha, she got ya', Ran! The owner? Ha ha ha, ain't that the funniest thing in the world?"

"The only thing he owns is that balding patch of hair!"

"Not for long, though--he's gonna lose that, too!"

"Ha ha ha ha~" As the barracks broke out into laughter, her Qi managed to slither inside the strange husk and envelop around the heart. She didn't do anything 'major', merely prick an invisibly small hole in its surface and infuse a tiny bit of pure Demonic Qi that would dissolve before a minute was up, leaving no trace of itself behind.

"Just give it to her," the old husk suddenly spoke up, seeming to surprise everyone, even Light. Though she did want it, she felt she'd have to dip into her 'savings' to get it.

"Capt'n, to give it--""--what use is it? We can't eat it, can't drink it, and can't even fu--she's of a mind to gift it to her father. Ain't it a precious thing?"

"..." Light's eyes curiously lit up as she inspected the husk again--something was different about it... its head was all lit up with colors! Bright, blinding colors of someone thinking real hard! Her Master's head was often precisely like this--even brighter even--because he thought about really complex things all the time! Up until now, the husk's head had no color whatsoever, and yet, suddenly, it was shining?... oh! Could this be like a possession? Interesting...

Though she wanted to immediately jump over and cleave the skull in half to inspect the brain, she restrained herself and waited as one of the men took down the horn and handed it to her. Unlike its appearance, it was actually rather rough to touch, with a lot of tiny creases and scars populating its light-brown surface.

"Hurry back now, girl," the husk said.

"It's dangerous to be out at night for everyone." Hm? She felt it, the strange energy appearing out of nowhere and latching onto her clothes. Her expression didn't change as she stuffed the horn into her arms, dismounted the bench, and began walking away. She wondered about the precise nature of the mark but didn't dare inspect it; Senior Brother Tao would know what to do, and if not him, then the Master would definitely have a solution!