"I… I don't know who it was… He had a deep voice and was strong is all I know, I never got to see him clearly, he never stepped out of the dark…" the one speaking was a rather frail-looking outer disciple, about average-sized for a woman, she spoke in a low tone that almost sounded melodious even as she hesitated and stuttered whilst trying to find the right words.
Her soft green eyes were clearly evading contact with those of the two people she was speaking with, although ashamed about something, and to add to the weak disposition she had, she looked a bit pale and had white hair, not quite snow white like those of Luxuli, but definitely not white as in old either.
This girl gave the impression that she needed to be protected and treasured like a small, fragile flower, her wrist and necks were wrapped in bandages, legs appearing a bit weak as she leaned against a nearby wall to not tire too quickly.
"Jingyi, you don't have to be afraid of that guy, just tell me everything you know and I'll kill him" one of the other two, a young man with dark hair and cold blue eyes, was definitely more noteworthy than the girl, for his garb indicated that he was one of the rarely seen core disciples, the sort that received guidance from elders and ressources on a nearly daily basis and were considered to be the cream of the crop, the vanguard of the younger generation, deemed to accomplish great things.
Yet, that top dog was currently more focused on reassuring some outer disciple and looking at her softly instead of training.
"I am so sorry that I left last time, if I didn't, this wouldn't have happened…"
"Oh no! Don't blame yourself, Li… I was the one who should have been more careful"
"Now, let's not throw blame around when it should be clear who is in the wrong, whoever did this to you is to be solely pinned down as the guilty party" then, the third one finally spoke up, another young man dressed in much a different manner compared to most in the sect, nearly in all black with only a white collar that Edrick recognised pretty well.
It had been worked by quite a few people of justice who had tried to get him the death sentence, meaning that this guy was probably a judge or prosecutor of some sort.
His platinum blond hair was slicked back on top of his head, and his clear blue eyes gazed with interest at the surroundings, but only a frown appeared on his face as he seemed to not find what he wanted.
The blond also looked at the girl with strangely soft eyes, one would need to be blind to not see that these two were both interested in the fragile flower that was the outer disciple called Jingyi, she seemed embarrassed to be looked at in such a way.
"Jingyi, would you mind showing me where that unknown man took you?" asked the blond.
"That should let you know what the bastard who hurt her looks like, right, Yi?" the core disciple said.
"B-But… Is it really right to bother you with something like this?" the girl stuttered.
"Of course it is right, not only was a crime committed, you're the one who was hurt too…" Yi gently touched her face, and it seemed to reassure the outer disciple as she leaned into his touch, which made Li turn ashen, the core disciple didn't say anything but was clearly not exactly joyful about the sight.
'Huh…' Anoteros felt like rolling his eyes, there was a certain air of rivalry between Li and YI, the prosecutor and disciple didn't seem to despise one another on a personal level, but they definitely felt like the other was an obstacle to their seduction of their desired woman.
Edrick felt like walking in and just telling them that they could just share and be done with it, but he didn't, despite how hilarious it would be, for although not present physically, he was definitely a part of the conversation already in a way…
Watching them three walk away, although it hadn't been the greatest time of day to see much, he could tell that this Jingyi girl was the kind soul who had allowed for him to complete the mission that granted him his latest innate ability, and as such, the one the two men were full of ire for, was in fact, him, good old Edrick Lucien Anoteros.
Though, they didn't seem nearly as mad as they should be considering what he did, so he guessed that the outer disciple had omitted much details and tried to weave the story like she had only gotten hit and roughed up a bit.
As much as he would like to follow them and get to know more about that love triangle for some laughs and giggles, he had a busy schedule and otherwise more important stuff to do.
Not to mention, Ting Zhenniao was an otherwise more interesting woman to stare at than this Jingyi, so he just waited for them to ascend some stairs up, and headed down to the basement, all the while wondering why they were just doing this in a trio like they were some sort of detective group with a talking dog instead of just informing an elder.
This was the Myriad-Arm Sect after all, at least three out of five elders would take it seriously and care enough to do something about it, especially when the identity of the culprit was totally unknown, they wouldn't have reservations unless they realised who it was.
Not that they would find out.
*Keep those three in mind for later*
The system popped up in front of him, adding a little smiley at the end of its message, curious, Edrick swiped through the missions, expecting a most interesting quest or set of quests to have been added concerning the trio, but there were none.
He shrugged and figured that the system had something else planned, or perhaps couldn't say it, the system would always be willing to answer questions but would often end up having to stay silent about certain things, whether because it did not know enough to provide a satisfactory answer, or because there were simply subjects that could not be spoken about.
Not that the latter option was ever about something truly important anyways…
Anoteros reached out and knocked upon the door leading into the basement, and it was nearly instantly opened, as though the elder had been standing directly behind it.
"Zixu! Or should I call you Edrick? Anyways, come on in! We'll run some tests and maybe begin training" she pulled him inside, literally, as a veteran cultivator, her strength was enough to pull even Anoteros along if she so wished, and then shut the door.
"Take a seat, and take off your shirt"