A little invisible shadow (4)

When An Fei departed from the Sanctum, her attire was considerable different than before.

After her remarkably unpleasant encounter with the Xiao Clan of Bone Spirit Town, the young girl did not wish to wear the linen coat.

She was thankful for the protection, but its plain appearance and large coverage stood out in direct contrast to everyone else and their summer-oriented clothing.

Thus, An Fei rummaged throughout her drawers in the boudoir for several long periods of time, until she selected a blue dress in the style of hanfu.

The dress was of a deep blue color, with the cuffs being a pale golden color.

The sash was of black fabric, and the skirt was a light purple color; the entire dress was made of silk that was deliberately altered to appear having been constructed of lowly fabric of cotton.

Underneath, the young girl wore a yi of light pink, carefully hidden underneath the thick cuffs and boundary edges of the shan.

Compared to her mysterious image presented when wearing a linen coat covering her entire body, the hanfu, when coupled with her disguised appearance, formed an apt manifestation of an innocent citizen girl of a town or city.

At the least, the little raven and the small fox had nothing in complaints regarding her appearance.

The little raven was secretly giggling with delight, for it could clearly detect that the hanfu did not possess the absurd enhancements of defense and protection as that of the linen coat.

The malicious little creature was doomed to realize that not only were his deep desires not beneficial to his wellbeing, they were downright catastrophic – a story for a later time.

"Laoda, how much for a dumpling?"

An Fei called with a brusque and excited voice, her finger pointing towards the stack of succulent baozi on the right side of the stall.

The stall owner shook his head in confusion as he searched for the sudden speaker, before his eyes lit up in surprise and delight.

"Young Lady, twelve coppers per bag, ah!" The middle-aged man happily roared as he patted his chest to display his confidence.

"I was only able to cook these baozi with the assistance of Old Li's freshly acquired vegetable oil, hence the higher price! But don't worry – this old thing will stake my head to prove that these are delicious, ah!"

The young girl earnestly searched in her leather bag for an ordinary silk pouch, carefully extracting twelve copper coins of which she handed to the middle-aged man.

The shop owner's eyes glistened with happiness, as he decided not to be stingy to the pretty lass who had the innocent pair of eyes and a nice voice to listen to.

Thus, one bag of eight baozi unknowingly increased to twelve.

"Laoda, thanks!"

The young girl waved her hands as she raced off into the streets, her mouth delightedly chomping onto the soft and delicate skin of the baozi.

Just as she bit in, the flavorful and tantalizing juices of the properly cooked and seasoned pork and vegetables swept into her mouth, prompting An Fei's consciousness to drift into heaven.

Oh, the taste of meat!

"Simply for its taste and fulfilling feeling, nothing can beat meat, ah…" the young girl licked at her fingers; the baozi was smaller than the sizes she was used to, but the texture was far more developed and smooth.

An Fei had returned to the Harmony Road to acquire information from eavesdropping on the nearby passerby.

Particularly, the young girl sought after any information regarding foreign merchants or any expeditions – in such a form, she could perhaps acquire a map leading out of the town.

Caw! Yip!

The little raven pressed against the young girl's exposed, delicate neck with its feathery head, its crimson eyes flickering with a tinge of wariness and malice.

The young girl paused for a moment, her eyes narrowing in surprise followed by a cold intent.

"Xiao Clan's soldiers are patrolling the area? Looks like the three elders weren't so honest after all," An Fei murmured in a quiet voice, her countenance maintaining its naïve demeanor.

The young girl pinched a second baozi from the cloth bag given by the store owner, prodding the succulent food into the mouth of the leather bag slung over her shoulder.

Without allowing her to even catch her breath, a swift creature yanked the baozi inside, and the soft sounds of chewing could soon be heard from the loosened opening.

"You little…" the young girl's lips twitched, before grabbing another dumpling to sate her stomach.

The taste of meat from a single baozi that was the size of her palm… immediately washed away five months of strictly vegetarian dishes.

As she walked across the Harmony Road, the young girl nearly lost herself in the paradise of the slightly salty and savory taste that could only be obtained by the meat within the baozi.

Nonetheless, she didn't forget to continue her surveillance.

"The Xiao Clan soldiers… seem to be roaming without any intention?"

An Fei prodded the little raven perched on the strap of the leather bag, her finger tickling its feathery head to rouse it from its momentary stupor.

The little raven accepted the prepaid bounty of a gingko nut, alighting from her shoulder without a sound.

As the little creature took flight, the young girl thought that she saw a violet flicker pass through the pair of crimson eyes… was she wrong?

"Xiao Bai, let's just sit and eat whilst Xiao Hei does his job, alright?"

Yip!

An Fei shrugged the anomaly from her attention, electing to lean against the limestone wall of the side of an unusually constructed building.

Thus, with her fingers prying into the cloth bag, a young girl and a small fox continued their delightful feast on nine tempting baozi still hot to the touch.

–

As the little raven flew, Dongfang Yu allowed his body to relax against the crystalline surface of the endless corridor, his mind naturally sinking into a myriad of thoughts.

The immortal youth's brows furrowed into a bewitching frown, his countenance laced with a solemn chill.

His consciousness replayed the events of yesterday night's massacre at the mortal world, more particularly, Bone Spirit Town's Peaceful Road.

The flying sword without a handle was one thing, but what confused him the most was how An Fei could utilize divine essence.

…and that spear.

"That…"

Dongfang Yu clenched his teeth, anxiety flooding his heart at the thought of the implications of a young mortal girl being in possession of the spear.

The three pronged blades latched at the sides of the shaft and the dull grey texture, the youth knew so well regarding the weapon.

The three-pronged spear that lacked any inscriptions, engravings, or even a supplementary construct was a unique weapon that was outlandishly infamous within the Realm.

Simply from hearing its name, the various immortals of the Realm would attempt to scatter and flee to the depths of the void, fearing for the safety of their immortal constructs.

Caladbolg.

His Master's most powerful weapon, the sole reason for her moniker as the former Forsaken Goddess and now the Butterfly of Chaos.

With a single flap of the pair of butterfly wings, fate within the Realm was distorted to the extent of being unrecognizable, and the divine constructs that formulated the existence and stability of immortal existences were torn asunder.

Furthermore, such altercations to the Realm were almost permanent, with even the Divine Spiritual Vein unable to resolve the warps in the spatial-temporal rifts in the void.

And her weapon, Caladbolg…

A single strike could eradicate an immortal construct without regard for their attainment in amassing Authority.

Be it a completely useless Rogue Immortal to an all-powerful Royal Immortal, the pronged spear could cause them a permanent death unlike any other.

Ten thousand years ago, his Master had caused the Ghost King of the Divine Palace to become extinct, his domain completely eradicated and obliterated from the void's register of established domains.

This had caused the Divine Palace to fall into complete chaos and be thrown from its glorified perch of the supreme organization of the Realm, of which they could recover only five years ago.

"But for a mortal girl to wield the weapon – granted it's not the full seven prongs, but still," the immortal youth's heart nearly quivered and shattered in fear.

"Master, what were you thinking, ah? It was a good thing that the spear was severely limited in its ability and didn't carry out the final operation, but still…"

I wanted to wield it once!

That was Master's supreme weapon, one that could decimate literally anything in the Realm!!

As her direct disciple, I should be granted the opportunity, but why did this inconsequential, insignificant, absolutely worthless stinky mortal lass obtain the chance before me!?!?

Mine, mine, all mine!!!

So frustrating!!!!!

Dongfang Yu gnashed his teeth in anger, grabbing at his hair with both hands as he groaned to release his fury.

The immortal youth cursed at the young girl hundreds of times in his heart before he was able to calm down, and focus on his current task.

"Since this corridor won't open up anytime soon, might as well check on this so-called Xiao Clan…"