Chapter 18. Something is wrong

Shawn arranged his schedule to general exercise in the morning, cultivation, work, technique training, cultivation, and sleep. Following just that, Shawn fell into a rhythm of working himself, he struggled a bit on the job but never let that effect his work.

He was actually learning from Beatrice the waitress how to serve guests and speak to people. He was learning from Allen the bartender how to serve drinks and the different types of alcohol. Casey even taught him about handling money. It is fair to mention that because he was eating a lot more than previously, he paid Casey a little each week in order to not be a burden, but that was it.

Shawn never asked his co-workers what was going on underground because it seemed to be the operation base of something. Shawn didn't want to take any more risks that put him on the radar of people he shouldn't.

After one more month of a steady schedule. Shawn got stronger and reached the little sapling method in the [ regenerative cycle]. He also reached the first stage or introductory level in the [Flowing Leg Kicks] method. Shawn was gaining more confidence in his strength against ordinary people at least.

It was an early morning that Shawn had heard a scream from outside. Waking up, the child, as stealthy as possible, opened the window and saw a man nailed to a wall with blood everywhere.

There were daggers impaling his body to the wall. This was not too far from the inn. A small crowd was forming, and people were scared. In the last couple of months many had left but there was still a steady stream of travelers visiting and residents who chose to stay.

Shawn knew the moment this took place that this town was about to descend into chaos. He had stayed in the inn for the last month completely focused but now he needed to leave. His street urchin senses were screaming at him to leave this place but Shawn wasn't sure. He didn't know where to go or if leaving was better than staying. This town wasn't the only place experiencing such nasty problems in the last few months.

Star-winter Academy was hard to get into and in a different county that would take a long time to travel to. Having never travelled before, Shawn was weary about going such a long distance alone. Overestimating himself would lead to death. Racking his brains, Shawn knew he would have to figure something out, maybe enlisting would allow him to gain the skills needed to survive in the vast beyond. His grandpa's lessons were valuable, but he didn't cover every subject matter and Shawn lacked experience.

Walking down to the ground floor he found Casey nervously biting his nails while looking at him with a strange gleam before turning away to mumble. There were not very many customers anymore but all of them looked ready to leave after hearing of the man nailed to a wall.

Shawn did his job and afterwards asked Casey to talk to Tabitha.

" She has been extremely busy as of late, but she should meet you later on today. Say, you wouldn't mind running an errand for her, would you?" The man smiled but somewhere inside, Shawn knew that this wasn't his usual smile.

Shawn didn't want to leave the inn but agreed when Casey explained that Tabitha need this done immediately. Casey gave Shawn a parcel and told him to run it to a building on the other side of town.

Shawn thought for a moment as the location was one of the city mayor's warehouses. There were people there managing it so it wasn't some spooky abandoned home.

"Hey, Casey what exactly am I—

Shawn never finished his sentences before Casey's faced turned frigid.

" Who the hell are you to question the Mistress's affair. DELIVER THE FUCKING PACKAGE!!"

This was the second time Casey was stern with him. Shawn knew Casey could be exceptionally cold but he had always helped him and even taught him. Shawn decided to do this to write the score between them as even but kept his guard up because Casey's outburst gave him a foreboding feeling. Exiting the inn, Shawn didn't see the dark look directed at his back when he left.

Shawn moved quickly across town and noticed it was far more silent than it ever had been. Slowing down when he was half way there Shawn knew something was wrong.

There were some people by the body of the man hanging off the wall; such a thing would attract people who wanted to confirm the gossip but there ought to be a decent amount of people still in town. There had yet to be news that Soft Light or the last big city before it had come under attack. It should not be this silent.

The more he thought on this the more danger Shawn realized he was in. After stopping, Shawn took a deep breath before he stiffened, he focused fully on smelling his surroundings as he caught the whiff of blood. It wasn't that strong but moving a few feet towards the mayor's warehouses and office area it grew stronger.

Shawn smelled a couple of homes before breaking the door down and checking inside. There were blood stains but no bodies. It left the young boy pale as he checked a couple of other homes that had the same conditions. It was like someone was killed the residents, but the body vanished. About to walk outside, Shawn hid in a house he had checked as he heard movement outside. Keeping his breath as soft as possible, Shawn focused on his hearing.

"This right here sucks, Fork."

" Yup, not like we have much value but we could at least help the others bring in more."

"We should've been able to kill a couple so we can become gray daggers. They want us to stay utility."

It sounded like two teenagers, and they walked the stretch of town. Shawn became vigilant and quietly peeked his head out after hearing they moved past him. He watched as they moved to another side of town. He was thankful it wasn't towards the inn as innocent people may be killed.

Moving with speed and stealth, Shawn made his way back to the inn to warn everyone there and talk to Tabitha. Once he arrived, Shawn noticed a faint bloody smell and his heart dropped. Shawn felt from the bottom of his heart that he had to do everything possible to let his benefactor know so she can escape. Tabitha would likely also have a way to escape the town, it was unlikely that just those two idiots were patrolling.

Shawn didn't enter the front door because his gut told him there was something foul about this area. It was quiet and he saw no one as he approached.

Shawn quietly climbed a window and entered his room. He then took all of his things before arming himself with a dagger and moving outside. Shawn was grateful that the floor was made out of strong wood that didn't creak.

Moving to Tabitha's room on the fourth floor, Shawn approached the only door on this floor. He had never been here before and was nervous. Controlling his breathing he pushed open the doors and entered.

Looking around he was astonished; the room was more lavish than anything he had ever seen. The bed was massive, the curtains and rug on the floor looked to made of high tier beast fur, a crystal that floated in the air providing soft light, and bookshelves tall yet filled to the brim. Everything was a soft yellow and green with hints of black.

Shawn did his best to focus when remembering that something was terribly wrong in his town. Searching around, Shawn found a few closed doors and came to one of them to try his luck. Opening one of them he found a bathroom matching the rest of the room which he promptly moved on from it. Opening the next door, he found what seemed to be a staircase.

Moving down at a silent and steady pace, Shawn noticed he was descending to the basement. Shawn stopped and slapped his head because he was still carrying the package that Casey gave him. It wasn't heavy, just some mail and a coin. It was Casey's cold reprimanding, the murder this morning, and the smell of blood throughout the town made Shawn want to check all the details.

He opened the letters and read through them not understanding the contents. He did recognize that money was being talked about but that was all he could make of the foreign words. Shawn knew how to read but this wasn't common tongue.

Shawn continued down the stairs finally reaching the bottom and heard talking.