The sky is covered with thick clouds, but it cannot prevent the scorching sun from transmitting heat to the earth under the clouds. The air is humid and sultry, and the occasional breeze is full of heat, which cannot bring a moment of refreshment to the sweaty pedestrians.
This is Yangming City, the place Laia is most familiar with besides his hometown. Since more than ten years ago, he has been paying attention to and investigating everything here until now.
The original reason was very simple: to destroy the Pale Hand's "Shadow Division" and avenge the death of his parents at the hands of the previous "Shadow King".
Now there's another one.
Leia understands that the little girls who once walked with him want to continue pursuing the path of peace, so the "King of Shadows", whose reason for survival is killing, has been on the opposite side of them from the beginning.
For anyone, such a "hunter" lurking in the dark, waiting for a fatal blow when the "prey" relaxes or becomes weak, is an extremely terrifying uncertainty.
He couldn't watch the "candle" he finally found being extinguished by the moving "shadow". So he had to do one thing - find an opportunity to kill Setsuna before he took action.
For this reason, he has been waiting here for five days.
Judging from the traces and intelligence collected in the past few days, Setsuna is not in the city yet. But Leia knows the habit of this "King of Shadows": whenever he plans to start a serious killing, he must return to his own
Stronghold, pray to the god he believes in, and then use a little of his own blood to exchange for the favor of that "god".
In other words, as long as Setsuna does not appear here, those little girls will be safe. And as long as he comes back, Leia believes that - at least there is a high chance that he will never have a chance to leave.
Waiting is a boring thing. But at least, he doesn't have to be like those unlucky assassins, lurking in dark and damp places for days and nights, just for the target to show up once.
Sometimes he would sit idle in a tavern in the city, ask for a pot of wine and a plate of peanuts, and slowly pour himself a glass of peanuts. Sometimes he would walk in the streets and alleys, listening to the chatter of passers-by, and get what he needed.
content.
He never worried about being discovered. During the several years he stayed in the "Pale Hand", Leia learned an almost perfect disguise skill - if he had not determined to leave, Shuiyun would not have been able to take over as the "King of Mist".
". And the talent his mother left to him is that in addition to not being afraid of flames, he can also completely change his own aura.
Even if Hu Feng or Wei Feng stood in front of him, they would never be able to connect the ordinary-looking young man, woman, old man, or other passers-by everywhere with the lone ranger.
Before this trip, Leia returned to his stronghold and once again summoned the "partners" who followed him. The little girls gave him nearly half of the reward given by Bo Yan, and he divided the rewards according to seniority.
It was divided equally among all - including himself. He then ordered his companions to return to their usual occupations until he summoned them again.
No one raised any questions, and no one expressed concern about him - this is quite normal. These "partners" come from the "Earth Department" and "Mist Department" of the Pale Hand. The strict training during the student period gave them the ability to obey orders.
good habits.
So, everything was taken care of, and now he was left alone to complete the final task.
This is exactly what he likes. Being unrestrained and doing whatever he wants without having to worry about the safety of his teammates around him or worrying about taking care of others.
Of course, he cares more about the success or failure of the action than the so-called sense of ritual. And he made this choice because he firmly believes that acting alone is the way with the highest success rate.
However, he did have an idea in the bottom of his heart - revenge accomplished with his own hands is the best memorial to his parents. As for whether this idea comes from the monster bloodline left by his mother, or the character taught by his father since childhood, it is not clear.
It's important.
Leia shook his head and woke up from his thoughts. He was now in the central square of the city, but few people would go out for a walk in the sultry afternoon. Only the homeless people were covering their bodies with a thin cloth.
, huddled in the shadows of the buildings on both sides and slept soundly.
When the sun goes down and other residents go out to have dinner, they will wake up and try to pick up leftover food from others. When night falls, they hide in corners that are sheltered from the wind, looking forward to the rising sun of a new day.
Leia has interacted with them and knows that they are not lazy or unwilling to work - begging is by no means a good occupation here. It is easy to say in summer, but when winter comes, half of these people sleeping on the streets will not be able to survive the night.
The cold weather disappeared silently on the roadside.
The reason for their current situation is extremely simple - they have the blood of monsters, but no one taught them how to control the power of the blood.
From the moment their demonic traits appeared, they were brought here from all over the empire and kept under strict supervision. If they wanted to escape from the city, members of the "Shadow Club" would immediately catch up and capture them.
Kill them on the spot. But even if they stay here, few people are willing to hire them.
Some people with beauty can use their bodies to get a less glorious job. Most of the rest can only become wanderers, gradually weakening and dying in the next few years. As for where their bodies went
, what purpose it has been used for, the residents here don’t know—in fact, even if they knew, I’m afraid they wouldn’t care.
This is the third reason.
Leia knew that this situation was far from being completely changed by killing a "King of Shadows". But at least through the turmoil caused by it, some "half-demon" yearning for freedom could leave here and live in a wider world.
survive in the world.
A single spark can start a prairie fire. Then let him, this "half-demon", be one of the first seeds of fire.
"Please remember me, little girls." The young ranger smiled to himself, clenching his right fist slightly. Then he walked into a tavern passing by and ordered a glass of cold ale to relieve the heat.
"I want to have a few drinks before you come back." He muttered and poured a big sip into his mouth. "Of course, if you never come back... I will just take your home away from home."
Bar."
Night falls slowly, and the scorching heat of the day slowly dissipates until the dampness and coolness of the early morning. Then, the morning sun breaks through the thick clouds and mist, casting a ray of light on the east of the city.
It’s another day.
Leia was not in a hurry. He had plenty of time, and he had enough money to live on for dozens of days. But as time passed, some emotions began to ferment in his heart.
It was neither nervousness nor fear, nor the so-called fighting spirit, but an inexplicable feeling of homesickness that I had not experienced for a long time.