First official meeting

The cloaked person sat and finished their drink silently by the man's side before they stood up and left.

The cup had been pushed aside, the payment was left on the counter and there was a piece of paper that was left there too.

The man noticed the paper and picked it up as he was about to chase the cloaked person but saw the clear words on the paper.

[There will be a carriage arrive in front of the door soon, be ready to enter it. If you have anyone waiting around to assist you then I would advise against taking such actions. We could be villains that will do harm to those you are looking for if you betray our trust and do not follow our orders precisely but we could also be looking out for their best interests as there may be spies within your people. Believe any part that you may wish but follow the directions so that you can see them.]

He crumpled the paper and put it in his pocket before leaving. 'Whoever they are, they are being very careful.'

He did think about chasing the cloaked person but he knew that such a person could just be a disposable pawn that was carrying out a task with no real knowledge of anything so it was useless to try capturing and interrogating them.

Putting his hands on such people would only serve to anger those who were currently in control of the situation and then he would never get what he wanted so he had to follow along with everything.

Most others may question many things or choose to ignore such requests to ensure their own safety but he was too desperate to see Sonare once again along with his son.

Even if it was a trap then he would walk into it willingly.

He stepped into the carriage that arrived and saw that nobody was inside and the windows were blacked out to prevent him from seeing the route that they were travelling on but also shield him from onlooking eyes.

After a long journey, the carriage had stopped in the middle of a road and then the door opened as the carriage driver shouted. "Get out quickly and enter the next one!"

He stepped out and entered the carriage that had stopped by the one he was riding.

Both carriages quickly started moving again and if anyone was tracking the previous carriage that he was in then they would have missed the quick exchange as he switched carriages.

He was seated within that carriage as it took several detours to be safe before it arrived at the outer parts of the Bombyx village where the famous forest of death began.

The carriage driver spoke. "You can get off now but follow the map underneath your seat. You should be able to find what you are looking for."

The man took the map after looking for it then left the carriage and headed into the forest area and followed the map.

He was able to avoid many deadly traps that could even kill an Unrestrained realm powerhouse if they had let their guard down and soon her arrived at his destination.

Not too far away stood a beautiful lady who looked like she had barely aged, it was Sonare who had completed her breakthrough and had undergone a huge change as she had looked about ten or so years younger than before.

Due to her less stressful environment, spending more time without difficult tasks and nagging family members along with her breakthrough to the Mystic realm, she had gained much improvement to herself and she had become very attractive for her age. "So you have come. It is strange seeing you since I barely even know you.. no. I can barely even remember that night as all I can remember are a few unclear images from that time so this should be our first real meeting."

Her voice was gentle and refined but it seemed to contain a strange power to it that was unlike most other humans.

It was very calming but it carried some kind of mysterious power that came from reaching her current realm and her attainments in Sound Arts.

The man coughed and looked a little embarrassed and unprepared. "I am sorry.. I should have dressed up if I knew that this was going to be our first meeting. I have just been desperate to find you and I had lost hope. Is.. is he okay? He is.. he is my son? Correct?"

His last words sounded hopeful as he wished to hear her confirm his suspicious but he was also worried for both of their safety.

Sonare nodded. "Yes he is safe and he has made a new friend already so he is doing better than when he was at that place. We will not be returning there and I am sure you have worked out why that is by now. Those that have offered me and my son aid have helped me find you and escape the plot that was staged against us. For now we should begin with the introductions since it is our first official meeting. I am Sonare Sound. what is your name?"

The man stepped forward and bowed a little. "Spirit Flame Mercenaries leader but you can just call me Ash. It is a pleasure to meet you and I am so glad that you are safe."

Sonare beckoned him to come closer and follow her. "I will tell you about what has happened but you must promise me that you will not do anything reckless in the future. If you have to do so in order to ensure that I and your son am kept safe then please follow what I or those behind me ask of you. This is for my own and my sons sake but it is also best for you too. Our situation is very difficult and even the slightest leak could put everyone in danger."

Ash went silent for a while and then asked. "How dangerous? Is the threat a large and powerful family? An organisation? A sect? An alliance of sects?"

Sonare let out a tired sigh. "You are underestimating my families stupidity and greed. This time they have worked with the wicked Blood Sect. Me and my son were about to be drained but were saved just in time. Whatever is happening to my family now is the result of the plans failing and them having nobody but those people involved to retaliate against. So will you trust me?"

Ash nodded calmly. "I will trust you. I just want you to be safe.. you do not even have to accept me but I will be willing to do anything for you."

Sonare looked at him and then turned her head away shyly. "Idiot, do not make promises like that so easily. I have been betrayed once before, I cannot just trust those words so easily. You must be very experienced in charming women."

Ash gasped and showed a look of disapproval. "No way! I have only ever loved one woman in my whole life. Just so you do not misunderstand me.. of course that is you! I could never forget you! If you were truly gone then I am unsure if I could continue going on."

Sonare then showed a look of embarrassment. "Fine then but if you go back on your words… you will be a dead man. I will take you to meet someone important first so that we can talk over the serious matters of the future then you can see our son. If you did not already know then his name is Lyric."

Ash nodded quickly and readily followed her.

The next period of time was spent travelling to meet Ki as Sonare kept a watchful eye over Ash, a discussion began on how the Spirit Flame Mercenaries should behave in the future and what actions should be taken before the father and son had their first meeting.

Ash looked at his son and sighed. "The kid is so thin and soft looking but he is definitely a looker."

Lyric looked at his father and then sighed. "Such a big guy.. although he could be quite handsome if he dressed and cleaned up a little… now he just looks like a big bear."

While the family got aquatinted with each other in the Bombyx mansion away from any prying eyes, they enjoyed the food and drinks that had been provided and Ki had been able to gain additional leverage over the Spirit Flame Mercenaries due to placing a Gu within the drink of Ash.

Although she had been able to get him under her control a little because of Sonare and Lyric, he was still a big risk and his abilities were still considered a threat so she needed something to ensure that she had some kind of backup plan.

Ash stayed there for a little while before he went back to his mercenary group and cancelled his operation against the Sound family which left many in confusion and in even more confusion as he returned back to his original duty as the leader as they started taking on regular missions again.

Slowly their power as a mercenary group was rising along with their reputation and even without their interference, the Sound Clan suffered many setbacks which put the two families in a difficult position.

Additional control over the rumours that had spread had helped to further damage the two families reputation as they had been carefully controlled by Marilyn while other similar events happened in other places as other people or groups had suffered similar situations at the hands of the Blood Sect.

Many dead and mummy like bodies were found as if the Blood Sect had come out of hiding to send a warning to those that did not fear them so the fear spread among the common people.

Investigators started to later arrive from the capital and the sects connected to the martial alliance as they started to investigate the deaths and attempted to track down the Blood Sect bases or those affiliated with them so they could earn high merits upon their return.

Due to the assistance that Ki had provided to Sonare, Sonare had put even more effort into her teaching of Ki as she had taught her the methods on how to use qi in a more delicate and refined way.

The sound arts require a finer and delicate use of qi to be used when working with an instrument or using qi to amplify the sound coming from the mouth so it could be used in many ways but it required excellent control that was far beyond what ordinary martial artists were capable of learning.

Slowly Ki had learned how to send her own qi to parts of her body like her throat, her fingertips and even to slightly cover an instrumental tool so although she was not yet at the Unrestrained realm and could not solidify her qi, she was still able to do those smaller and more delicate tasks with her qi.

After some testing, she had found that the effects of her own qi when used with playing music had interesting effects but they were much too deadly to be used in a public place.