A Blessing In Disguise

Disregarding Chu Cuifen, who looked like a furious lioness ready to pounce, Xin Long departed.

Hastily stepping, Zhang Wei followed behind him. While he was raising an eyebrow to her actions, he didn't oppose.

After an awkward silent walk of ten minutes, they finally exited the massive estate. Halting, he decided they were far enough.

"So, why is Miss Zhang Wei following me?" His aloof expression diminished ever so quickly, startling Zhang Wei.

"You sure are good at putting up faces!"

"Thank you, I guess?"

"Hmm, seems like you can only believe rumours so much." As she spoke, she examined him as if trying to see through him.

"Indeed. Haven't you heard the saying — Rumours are as dumb as people who started them and as phony as people who spread them."

"Such eloquence, you truly are interesting. Your performance earlier was phenomenal too."

"Thank you again. So, Miss, Can you tell me the purpose of our colloquy."

"Sure, I will be straightforward then, I want to learn piano from you."

Blinking his eyes to her request, he contemplated while Zhang Wei waited patiently.

After some moments he shook his head.

"I can't, I don't have so much free time."

"I won't ask you do it for free, I will compensate you." Not even remotely disheartened by his expected response, she added.

The corners of his mouth turned up listening to her.

"What kind of compensation?"

"I will perform one action you speak of; whether you desire money, treasures or likes, I will provide it to you." Because of his sudden interest as soon as she talked about compensation, she felt disappointed wondering if he was a materialistic individual.

"I don't have much interest in wealth but I do want some information, if you fetch them for me, I am willing to tutor you."

"What kind of information?" An expression of amusement crept up to her face, not that Xin Long could see it.

"It's a mystery, I will reveal it you in the future."

"...I see."

Following that, they again stood in silence, at least till Zhang Wei talked again.

"Aren't you curious what's lies underneath my veil?"

This question caught Xin Long a little off guard.

"Well I am curious, but since you didn't take it off, I didn't wanted to be rude. Wai-"

His words came to an end abruptly due to Zhang Wei unexpected actions.

With her fingers she elegantly opened a knot, the black veil became quickly undone, revealing a peerless face.

Behind that veil hid a small and delicate face. If, Chu Cuifen was a soul stirring beauty then she was a beauty who could pacify a soul.

Without a hint of makeup, her natural beauty shined brightly. Her beautiful long eyes lashes and that raven pupil which showed amusement looked exquisitely crafted.

She looked somewhat naive but not all foolish.

Her natural pink lips were like cupid's bow, tender yet inviting. It incited one's desire to gnaw on them slowly.

"Like what you see?"

Previously because he wasn't able to see her face, he couldn't quite get a hand around her character but now he understood.

The flicker of amusement in her eyes further proving his answer, she was 'almost' a straightforward person but — she harboured shrewdness — arguably abnormal for her age.

"I do...No wonder why you veil yourself." Breaking out of his stupor, he concluded.

"Uh-huh." Nodding her head she looked at his reactions before putting her veil on. He couldn't help but display a bit of disappointment to this.

Seeing his disappointed look, she giggled, satisfyingly.

"As a thanks for teaching me, I will not wear veil when in front of you from later on."

Saying her piece, she departed while laughing heartily. It pulled some faces from surrounding, wondering where the angelic laugh came from.

Shaking his head to get rid of unnecessary thoughts, he started moving towards his own carriage.

-

"Gallop-gallop!"

It was already midnight. Inside the carriage Xin Long was cultivating while musical noise of horses galloping constantly rang out, they were still travelling back.

"Neigh!!"

The carriage suddenly halted, almost making Xin Long crash on the wooden frame.

He didn't instantly went outside but asked.

"Driver, what happened?"

Silence!

Nobody spoke, his intuition was buzzing him with alertness. To some extent he has some idea as to what was happening.

Stepping outside the carriage, he found himself in an unpopulated street. Moving his gaze around, he saw a nauseating scene.

Corpses, heaps of them, were just thrown around, their body lacerated. The horses and driver was decapitated already, blood oozed out unceasingly. Some civilian were also brutally murdered. Gulping the incoming vomit back, he hardened himself.

"So you finally came out. I thought being the coward you are, you will cower inside forever." An unpleasantly coarse voice came from his right.

Slowly turning his face, he found three people who were also heavily injured but nonetheless looked menacing. He couldn't make up their face because they concealed it quite well. But even if he thought with his foot, he knew who sent them.

"Chu LiuXiang huh, I didn't think he would be so ruthless."

"Boy, you shouldn't have messed him."

While listening to him, Xin Long wondered if their wounds came from fighting with his guards. He knew his sister was smart enough to send some experts to guard him in secret but looking at the people in front of him, he understood most likely than not his guards were dead.

This was bad! He wasn't very strong and his fighting technique left much to be desired. Other things aside, in this world, way of fighting was way advanced than Earth. The three in front of him were surely experts, he wasn't confident enough to fight against them yet.

"Let's just finish this already, we have already lost many brothers."

Suddenly one of them jumped towards him with his sword hacking down on him. Seeing the incoming attack, Xin Long dodged to right but the sword still traced his left arm, almost cutting it. Clutching his teeth in pain, he brain rotated.

That attack looked like someone from Late Stage of Body Refinement Realm, fortunately this Realm didn't have that massive gap between each Stage, so he was able to keep up with his opposition...just barely.

From his peripheral vision, he could see sneering faces of other two who were sitting out. Even though he felt humiliated, he would take their foolishness not to finish him quickly gladly.

"Hmph, sneaky brat!"

As the sword swung from his left, this time instead of dodging, he put his left arm against it.

"Kacha!"

A deep cut appeared on his hands, almost showing his bones but he didn't let of opponents sword. Wincing in pain, he pulled the sword, acting like he was going unconscious and closed distance between him and opponent hastily.

While the covered man was trying to push him off in annoyance, an unexpected tearing pain ambushed him. Looking down, he caught the cold expression on Xin Long's face.

"Puchi!"

Blood flood out of his chest relentlessly, a golden dagger was stabbed deep in his heart.

"Golden dagger?" The other two were stunned seeing it, instantly their eyes burned in greed, disregarding their dying comrade.

This golden dagger was given to him by Xin Ning, one of the treasure of Xin Clan. Before departing, he asked Xin Ning for a protection tool, predicting this incoming situation. The reason why despite having such gap between their cultivation, he could penetrate opponent's skin is because of this dagger properties.

"Boy, you have some good treasure. Give it to me and I will let you die easily."

Pushing the dead man off of him, Xin Long mind raced again without minding opponent utterance. The trick worked once, twice — it won't.

While wondering what he could do in this situation, he eyes drifted towards the shining blood ring that never reacted till now. Right now, it was painted in that dead man's blood.

Suddenly, it blinked, then again, and again. As it blinked, with each passing second the frequency increased. Gush of thick red miasma abruptly released from it, the eerie feeling it gave send shivers down everyone present.

The red miasma flowed out in surrounding, covering every dead body, human and animals alike. They could see those miasma gradually turning deep red as the bodies started drying. It was as if all the moisture from their body was sucked clean, whether it's water or blood. Shortly afterwards, after all the bodies dried like a leaf, the miasma started converging towards Xin Long rapidly, he nerved himself.

But instead of attacking him, the converged miasma was slowly sucked in by that blood ring. Within couple minutes there were no remains of miasma, as if it didn't existed. But the dried up bodies told him what he saw was indeed true.

While confusion shook him, he noticed the blood ring. Now it was clean and it shined brightly. As he was about to take his attention off of it, a drop of blood suddenly started forming on top of it, floating. That tiny drop of blood was red, redder than the moon, which shined brightly than silvery moon today for some reason. Subconsciously, his hands reached towards it.

As he touched the blood, it seeped inside him instantly. While he felt bewildered as to what was happening, he could feel the blood flowing in his stream. The warm blood flowed in every part of his body, he could feel himself becoming stronger every passing second.

His lips couldn't help but turn itself up feeling an interesting knowledge being imparted to his brain.

"Tempest Blood."