Chapter 332: The Return of Sha Yun
Following the snake-woman into her room, Hui Yue sat down on a chair and looked at the woman in front of him. She looked the exact same as he remembered, as mesmerizing as always with pride shining in her silver eyes.
Smiling at the woman, Hui Yue waited for her to sit down next to him, but instead she placed herself on her bed, a good distance away from him, something which caused a frown to appear on the handsome face.
“I have been worried about you recently,” Hui Yue repeated. “I know you are big enough to take care of yourself, and I do not fear that you had done anything wrong, it is just so weird not having you around,” He said to her with an apologetic smile. “Is it because of my emotions? You ought to know that although I don’t love you as a woman, I still see you as one of my closest friends. I really don’t want to hurt you, but at the same time I understand that being around me will hurt you.”
Hui Yue paused for a moment as he looked at the snake-woman in front of him. She had said nothing but a sad gleam appeared from deep within her deep eyes. “I don’t know what you want from me.” He said with a sigh, “I don’t know if you want me to leave you alone for some time, or if you want me to come searching for you. I need you to tell me what you want from me.” He continued, “I will do anything you ask so long as I am able to help you out. I don’t wish to break the bond I have with you, nor do I wish to hurt you. All I want is to see you happy.” He sighed.
Seeing the complicated expression on Hui Yue’s face, Sha Yun’s eyes turned increasingly tender and a warm smile spread on her face. “I need some time for myself,” She said with a low voice. “My feelings are so strong that they will never change, but I need to come to terms with reality. I just so happen to have found a group of cultivators with mixed blood where I fit in perfectly. We cultivate together and sometimes goes out hunting magical beasts much like a team of mercenaries. It is exciting.” She said in a light voice, “When I am with them I can enjoy myself in a way I haven’t in a long time. They are good friends, but no matter what you will always be the one whom I care for the most,” She said as her gentle eyes looked straight into the deep ice-blue ones that were watching her from across the room.
“I am glad to hear that you’ve been doing well. But you have to know that I will always be here for you,” He continued. “If you ever feel like you need a hug or just someone to talk to then I will be here. Even if I cannot give you exactly what you want, I can still give you an everlasting friendship,” A tender smile was present on his face as Hui Yue looked at Sha Yun, and seeing the emotion within her deep eyes he could only sigh.
“I know,” She whispered in a low voice as she nodded her head. “I know that you will always be there for me, and one day I’ll be satisfied with just that. Right now, though, I still need to think about other things and try to keep myself preoccupied. I am going out with my group of friends again tonight, and we will be back in about a week. Don’t worry about me; I will make sure that nothing happens.” She said with an excited smile on her face. It was clear that she was doing everything she could to preoccupy herself, and somehow it seemed to work.
Nodding, Hui Yue stood up and as he was about to leave he turned around and dragged Sha Yun into his warm embrace. Holding her for a moment, he felt how the snake-woman’s body at first was completely rigid, but she slowly relaxed. “Remember that your home is here by my side. You really are an important friend to me, so take good care of yourself,” He mumbled into her ear before he let her go. With a wave of his hand, he left the room leaving behind a stunned Sha Yun.
Leaving the room the lingering feeling of having hugged the snake-woman remained on Hui Yue, and the feeling of her soft body made him smile a little. He was in a great mood ever since he found out what Sha Yun was spending her time doing, and even more so when he realized that she did not hate towards him. That he had embraced her on impulse was something that had shocked even him, but he felt like it was needed. She was, after all, a very important person to him.
Looking around, he sighed as he mumbled, “One woman down, just one more to go.” And he slowly walked towards Wang Ju Long’s room. Sha Yun was not the only woman who had seemingly tried to avoid Hui Yue; Wang Ju Long had done the exact same ever since he had returned home and now it was simply too much for the white-haired young man. He needed to know what her feelings were so that he could move forward.
Knocking on Wang Ju Long’s door no one answered not even after he waited for half an hour, so Hui Yue came to the conclusion that Wang Ju Long had left the mansion to go and train with the experts at the infirmary.
Contemplating what to do next, Hui Yue understood that there was no one within the mansion apart from Sha Yun and Xu Piao. He had already spoken with both of them. Scratching his chin, he started to wonder if he should go to the Black Lion, or if he should go see the Ma family and inform them about Cou Ling’s decision. Both places should have some information about what had transpired in the last few days.
“I guess the Black Lion would have a bit more information than what Ma Kong has. Since it is information I need, I better pay Gao Yan a visit,” He mumbled to himself as he left the mansion. Seeing him leave the guards were at a loss. He had just returned, yet a few hours after he left once more. Was he going to vanish once again? Looking at each other, both of them saw the unsaid question in the other’s eyes, but all they could do was shake their heads. They knew that they were not entitled to ask questions about what their employer had planned.
Hui Yue had been in Muchuan City for long enough to thoroughly know his way around town but even though he knew the way around town, he still had issues getting to the Black Lion quickly. There were simply far too many people present on the streets.
Muchuan City was the capital of the kingdom, and it was densely packed with houses in the poorer areas. During the day these families would be selling items at the marketplaces; they would sell food at food stalls, beg or even steal to make a living. Looking at the horde of people in front of him, Hui Yue could only sigh deeply as he tried to get past them somehow.
Suddenly, just as he was about to push his way past a few fat experts, he suddenly sensed a small hand slip past his clothes, and out of reflex, Hui Yue grabbed the small hand which now contained some of Hui Yue’s memory stones.
Seeing that he had been caught the face of the thief turned increasingly pale, but he did not panic and did not try to run away. He seemed as though he knew that it would be pointless.
Pulling the arm, Hui Yue entered a small alleyway where there were no people and finally turned around to look at the thief in front of him. Looking at the young man, he quickly found that he could not be more than ten years at most. His face was filled with a childish charm, but a stubbornness and fierce expression were visible in his eyes; no fear could be seen.
Smiling at the young man, Hui Yue took some time to look at him and the more he did, the more impressed he became. “Kid, why are you not going to martial school instead of stealing? That way you will get a free meal daily alongside training to become much stronger. Strength is needed, especially if you want to be a thief. Anyone would be able to catch you as you are now.” He said with a frown on his face, but the young boy only frowned looking at Hui Yue as if he were stupid. “It might be true that I will get a meal, but what about my sister?” He asked. “I am ten years old, so I can enter school, but she is merely seven. Without me providing for her, she would die within the month.” He said, and the stubbornness in his eyes grew increasingly intense. Looking at this young man, Hui Yue felt great respect. He had chosen a worse path for himself but in doing so he could look after the person who truly mattered to him.
‘Let me check him out. I think he might have a rather good talent for cultivating. If he is groomed the right way, becoming a Saint should not be a hard goal for him. In fact, I think his talent is stronger than yours if we do not count all those weird phenomena within your lower dantian.’
Hearing this Hui Yue was greatly taken aback, but he was here for the sake of creating a faction and to do so he needed strong individuals. Right now what he needed was allies, and this young man was likely to become a great help in the future.
A ripple of energy suddenly left Hui Yue’s body and the young boy just stared at him, completely shocked. Finally, a bit of fear appeared in his eyes. If he died his sister would without a doubt die as well, that was something he could not afford.
“Calm down kid; I won’t kill you,” A voice sounded from the cultivator in front of the young boy, a voice completely different from the voice that he had just heard. This one sounded arrogant and even more powerful. However hearing that he would not kill him, the hammering heart in the chest of the young boy slowly stilled, though he was still hesitant and on high alert.
“Give me your arm. I need to check something,” He said with great authority and without thinking about it, the young boy did exactly that. Grabbing the arm, Hui Yue placed two thumbs on the boy’s wrist and inserted a thread of his Qi into the younger boy’s body.
Smiling, he noticed that this Qi was greedily being absorbed by him, like when the ground absorbs water after a draught. Seeing this, the smile on Hui Yue’s face increased and yet another ripple of energy came from his body as Hui Yue took over.
The reason that ripples appeared was because the souls of Hui Yue and Lan Feng had grown considerably. The stronger their souls became, the more energetic the ripples would become. The young boy in front of him was completely frozen in place, and unable to understand what had happened, but he was sure that this mysterious white-haired young man had nothing bad planned for him.
“Take me to your sister. Afterwards, you two will follow me, and I will ensure that both of your lives are decent. What is your name?” Looking at Hui Yue skeptically the young boy finally opened his mouth, “Lao.” Lao was the only thing he said. There was no other name, or anything. His only name was Lao as he had never been given any other name by his parents.
“What is the name of your sister?” He asked, and Lao looked at him for a short while before answering the question, “Her name is Jo.”
“None of you have last names?” Hui Yue asked curiously, and Lao shook his head. “Jo and I are not blood-related, but I found her when she was a baby. To me, she is everything,” He answered honestly. He felt comfortable next to Hui Yue, and he saw the older man nod his head once more.
“Take me to your little sister first,” He repeated. Lao nodded his head before he led Hui Yue into the lowest part of town. The stench was incomparable, and the sewer was overflowing. Everyone he looked at was as poor as Lao. Looking around, Hui Yue was uncertain how people could live this way.