Finding my target wasn't that difficult to say the truth, he was the only guy who had a change of expression when I finished talking just now, his eyebrows faltered and he squinted his eyes, this guy was one of the people who was still supporting the suggestion of Lu Jian uncle regarding handing the Chu siblings over .
Looking at him, he seemed to be trying to feign ignorance about what took place and that it having no link to him whatsoever, but all the people here had enough experience to see what he was doing, the Elder who called me out for my actions just now had a livid ugly expression on his face, then he again bowed to me and apologized for this happening .
I already planned to teach that guy a lesson, but seeing how terrified he had already become, I didn't see any point of doing something like that anymore, I was no longer interested in causing neither an uproar nor a scene here, so I merely nodded at Lu Jian and the latter had tried to disperse the meeting, but I motioned for him to allow me to finish saying what I have to say before that .
" I just hope to say what I have to with you all here as my witnesses, I'm thankful that your family had helped me and my friends in such a difficult time, I owed you a favor for that, but if keeping our Solid Rock Fist Dojo's guests made you feel any trouble, then just say it and I will take them all away .
As I said this, I saw that their seem to be still a variation in the reactions of the people in front of me, some felt relieved, some were content with my words, few wore ugly expressions on their faces, Lu Jian in particular seemed to be quite happy at my words, he even said while patting my shoulder :
Good brother, very good brother, I Lu Jian respect you even more than before for your kindness and generosity, but please don't go around saying things like this, we are brothers and it's our duty to help one another in time of crisis, I don't know what you have heard, but rest assure, your friends are my Lu Jian friends as well, I would never plot against my friends, so please don't mind the thoughts of elder, our Lu Family wouldn't like to lose its face for such a trivial matter .
Hearing him say this, I was very glad to know his thoughts are like this, I nodded my head and gave him a faint satisfied smile, the only smile that I can currently make without my guilt coming pricking me like needles .
After we exchanged some pleasantries with one another and he together with the audience here were very interested to know what happened in the underground cave and if I had anything to do that weird phenomena that the whole city had witnessed brightening the sky .
I indulged in a conversation with them for a while and cleared many of their doubts, before they finally get out of the Hall, not all of them were satisfied, but this wasn't something I needed to concern myself with, after they got out of the Hall, I asked Lu Jian about the state of his family .
Normally, he wouldn't have wanted an outsider to be informed about how things were in the family, but just as he heard my question, his face brightened up and he started explaining his current situation, his current situation was not good .
The stalemate between the him and Lu Chiang had been broken by the fact that the latter manged to bring a few more elders to his side, almost suffocating the authority out of Lu Jian hands, but that wasn't all, Lu Chiang was also rumored to have made yet another breakthrough in the last few days .
Those pieces of news didn't surprise me much, I already know about him breaking through to the next layer, the last piece of news was what caught my attention the most, it was related to the crisis that the Lu Family was currently facing, Medicine Pills Shortage Crisis .
The Pill Pavilion of Howling Wolf City collaborated with the city lord to strangle the Lu Family and this tight strangle was said to continue unless they handed over the two siblings, the most precious resources that needed to strengthen the ranking of a noble family was pills, some might even consider the loss of pills to be a devastating blow that no family can recover from .
Martial Techniques and Skills were important, but it was the consumable items like pills, ointment, medicinal baths that helped Martial Artists in progressing further and further, not to mention the healing pills that were essential, even Fasting pills were things that can't be labeled as trifled .
After hearing his situation, I once again raised his position in my heart, anyone else in his position and suffering from things like this, might have decided to hand those two guys since a long time as to not suffer much for it .
I nodded at his words and decided in my mind to search for a way to compensate him in the future, after that I had him lead me to where the two siblings were, he kept looking left and right, almost as if imagining someone watching us, but after some time he seemed to become certain that everything was okay, so he told me to come after him .
I couldn't help but ask for an explanation, he said that these last few days, the house kept being trespassed and harassed by all kinds of mercenaries and assassins that wanted to carry favor with the City Lord .
That's why he was the only one who know the whereabouts of the two siblings and he didn't trust no other person to know about them, I couldn't help but think about why was he doing all of this for people who barely know .
We stepped from one door and entered another, door after door until we finally reached into a yard that seem to lay behind the family mansion and only accessed through a secret door going underground, then it continue all the way up again, seeing how obscured the situation was, I too started to use my senses to see if there was someone following from behind us .
But luckily there seem to be no one following us, we finally reached the yard where the two siblings and what remains of their subordinates, I reckoned that we should have crossed quite the distance from the Lu Family's Mansion, I couldn't help but look at Lu Jian after seeing what he labeled as a yard, what appeared in front of me was an entire camp .
Him noticing my gaze gave a bitter smile and seemed to be reminiscing about something as he blurted out a few words saying :
Brother Tian, this was a special place where my parents used to take me and my sister to practice Martial Arts and to enjoy some free time, this place is only known to 5 people including me and my parents and sibling and her maid who would help her get here to ease her mind from time to time, other than those, not another soul know of this place existence, you can be assured .
Oh brother Jian had come back, thank you for your help and all of your hard work ×12 .
As he was talking to me a group of 12 people who wore the Green Sword Villa uniform appeared around us, they all greeted brother Jian and all of them bowed down to him in gratitude, he hurriedly went and help them up, then I saw that after they stood up, some of them looked guarded against me and some others were happy to see me, some even greeted me quite warmly .
Looking at their warm greeting and how injured and scarce in number they were, I felt angry at myself for not killing that Chu Cheng when I gotten the chance to, at that time I wanted to keep him for Chu Jian to interrogate, but I would have never anticipated this kind of development .
Now, Master's dead by poison, that he only got exposed to because of me, just the thought of this was enough to make me grit my teeth, but I woke up soon after seeing that my expression seemed to scare the people in front of me, I apologized for my sudden outburst and asked about where Chu Jian was .
Young Master is training there by the fountain, close to young miss tent right there .
Someone had pointed the way for me and both me and Lu Jian head there, Lu Jian was being paid respect by the masses, I first didn't grasp why they all adored him this much, saving them was enough, but I heard them thanking him for the food he delivered daily and personally to them and I instantly understood why was he being treated like that now .
I once again imprinted this guy's favor in my heart and mind, then directly went to where Chu Jian was, wanting to check on him and see how was he doing, but this was an excuse or at least not my main goal, I came here for Chu Ji Xi and to make sure that she was okay and her transformation had not been interrupted by anyone .
I approached the fountain they mentioned and as we approached, I started to hear the sounds of rigid breathing of someone, then saw Chu Jian standing there beside the fountain staggering to continue swinging his sword with his only remaining hand .
Seeing him like this, I kind of sympathized with him, the first time I got to know about Martial Arts and how my lack of Blood Vitality might make my path forward quite short, I fell into despair, but only after I realized that I had a chance to turn things around in my favor, did I start to feel alive again .
Just like Chu Jian in front of me, he was a guy that should have gotten all that he ever sought or desire, but now he had lost a limb and his Martial Path could be said to have ended, Chu Jian also took the path of Full Body Refinement, him losing a limb meant that the circulation routes that he had installed for his practice was now messed up and his path forward is crippled .
Even if he tried to return to the normal way of practice, he would most likely to die than to actually succeed, but unlike me who would have fallen into despair if I was in his place, he actually staggered to continue practicing uncaring whether was he going to succeed or not .
He was so engrossed in his intense training session that he didn't even realized that we were here and were currently watching him go at it, he held his sword limply and staggeringly, his posture was a bit Irregular as if he was unfamiliar with it .
Maybe his left hand was his dominate hand and now he was starting to get familiar using the sword with his right hand, it was troublesome as it's, but that wasn't all that he was currently trying to do, he was actually trying to execute a Martial Sword Technique using his irregular and staggering posture with his non dominant hand .
As he started to dance with the sword in his right hand, I saw that like a serpent he was sliding across the grass while stabbing what seem to be where the vital parts of imaginary enemies in his mind, throat, heart, kidneys, lungs, all internal organs and body parts .
Just as he seem to be trying to shift to another move, his body froze on the spot, then a mouthful of blood was spat on the ground by him, then he fall backwards and stayed on the ground for a few seconds in a meditative position, most likely consolidating his gains, if he seem to have gained any .
What made me think like that was because he angrily fisted the earth beneath him and his punch made cracks to appear, so he must have use quite the amount of strength in his punch just now, seeing him regain his determination right after he seemed to suffer a setback, I understood that this guy had a strong determination and attachment to Martial Arts .
Just as I was about to say something to alarm him to our existence, I saw that he glanced at where we were and instantly his face brightened up and he came towards me and embraced me in a hug while saying :
Brother Tian, how good it is to see you finally well and doing good .
Hearing his warm greeting, I wanted to tell him that he was the same, but I understood that he would just call me out for not wanting to hurt his feeling, that was his character, I returned the embrace and just said :
" How are you hanging up ? .
He broke the embrace and with a smile that carried hints of both confidence and bitterness, he patted his chest and said :
I'm Alive and that's all thanks to you .
I shook my head and said :
" You are alive because of your very own efforts, I'm sorry for not being there to help you some more .
This time, it was his time to shake his head in dismay while patting me on the shoulder and saying :
If it wasn't for you, I would have already died, before senior Chen Fan arrived, so as I said you saved my life and my sister's too countless times now, I'm at loss of what to say or do to express my thanks .
I patted him on the shoulder and assured him that this was already an accepted this normal words of his as his gratitude gratitude gesture to me, he shouldn't worry about this anymore .
You two are really good brothers .
I owe Brother Jian another dept of gratitude, I hope you would accept this bow of mine .
Brother Jian you don't need to be so formal, we are all Brothers here .
" I guess we all really are .
I had no problem accepting the two of you as my brothers.
I have no objection .
Well, it's settled then, who of you had something that could be shared among us .
Suddenly I saw three cups appear on a table near from Lu Jian's Pouch, then a drink appeared, we made the bond between us then official, we become sworn brothers, seeing how happy the two of them was, I left them to the party they were holding a big party to rejoice this event and make it a priceless memory .
I wanted to talk to Chu Jian about a serious matter, but was pulled by Lu Jian and seeing how joyful was both of them, I decided that for now, I would leave them be, I wasn't in the mood for a part currently, so I solitude myself in the tent where Chu Ji Xi was resting in .
The second I stepped into the room, the tent shone brightly as if the girl was greeting me, I also felt some faint pressure start to be exuded by her, maybe it was the loss of someone whom I had considered special to me affecting me, seeing her on the bed motionless like this, made my heart even more heavy .
I saw myself appearing beside her bed and holding her hand in mine, completely disregarding of the notifications that kept buzzing in my head, I found some solace in what I was doing and now that I got closer look on how she was doing .
I saw that her face become more charming than before, his body seemed to be changing as well, her veins were shimmering with a cyan green energy, I was alarmed at first but soon I loosened my guard and saw that it was this Green Energy that caused her transformation and that there shouldn't be any danger on her life .
" Are you awake, like conscious ? .
Her body shone with light, giving me her answer and letting my mind buzz with even more notifications of side effects coming from that damn energy, I'm starting to believe that it was all on purpose .
" I become a sworn brother to your brother ? .
The light dimmed for a while, so I continued to say :
" Don't worry, our arrangement still stand .
The light lit up again, then it dimmed, then it lit up brightly, but not as bright as every time, I understood that something seem to be on her mind, so I couldn't help but start guessing what might be wrong with her, throwing all kind of question at hers, then she finally responded when I asked about her worrying about me .
I was surprised that she was aware of something being wrong with me, I told her about what had happened and the hand I was holding started to tighten around my my hands as well, this was all she can currently do, but for me that was more than enough .
Even though her hand had dangerous energy covering them, but to me it was currently warming my heart, we continued to talk about a lot of things, or I talked and she just kept dimming and brightening from time to time, that went on for the rest of the night, with the crow of the rooster the next day, I finally opened my eyes and a hand was playing with my hair and I was burying my face in the bed .
I felt the corner of my eyes become watery and thought that they at least finally came pouring down, my tears, I had thought that I had already managed to hold them back, but finally I seemed to have failed and they started pouring while I was asleep .