Chapter 75

‍‍Though he stayed all night on the roof such that he eventually fell asleep, as he now awoke he wasn't sore.Reed yawned garishly and he stretched his limbs.He moved his hands to his face but he couldn't feel anything. That was a sign that he had turned into water which explains the lack of sensation .

He could've fell asleep crying or just stopped seconds before slumbering but whatever happened is not of concern because it won't show on his face unless he forgets to hide . His human body is like a clay mask, it can be molded to show a better and fresh face despite how he feels. This is because his emotions and physical state of mind can show on his face as an emphasis from his mindset but only if he wants them to.

What this is implies is that, Reed has the control over his appearance but there are two conditions. The first is that when he is feeling negative for example tired , angry or disoriented, the emotions will always show on his face even if he hates it but he can hide them. They don't wait for his approval to emerge, they just show up.The second is that when he is feeling neutral he can fake any emotion or state into his body. He can make himself looked bruised when he hasn't been touched or look jolly when he is spiritless. These are the ones that he has control over. So if he turned to human right now, one might see puffiness or just signs that he cried.

This doesn't however mean that one can find dark circles on his water form if he is exhausted. His water form is a silhouette and will never shown anything except the contours of a human. So all emotional display reflect on his human body and never on his water

He rotated his eyes and he turned his head to look around himself. There wasn't any activity going on because the doors of the palace haven't been opened yet.This means that sergeant agressive hasn't arrived yet and Reed won't be in trouble even if he hasn't gone on patrol during the night.

Ace told him that every guard should always patrol the whole place atlest five times through the night. They should always be moving no matter what. It made sense to Reed until his colleagues asked him if he will be the only guard on patrol. There are many guards stationed throughout the palace , it would be chaotic if all of them kept moving around the place like bees that is why they remain stationery and change shifts every six hours to go elsewhere. Why would anyone be expected to move through this enormous place that often times?

Them asking and telling him that means that Ace only gave that instruction to Reed who should be expected to carry it out. He is probably going to use some super-human way to find out what Reed was doing and to punish him for what he hadn't accomplished. It would be great if he ever hinted that he is training him so heartlessly for the benefit of Reed or the kingdom but it just seems that he is only doing this for himself and out of spite. The question would be , why does he hate Reed so much even if they are perfect strangers? They have never even exchanged a single conversation or had a reason to be aquinted yet he treates him like he cursed his whole lineage.

Anyway even if Reed runs twelve times around the palace now , the others are still going to report that he was absent during the night even if he did patrol eight times just before he went to the king's room. As for the king's room, all rookies are forbidden to come close to him because they would be bothersome and don't even have the experience needed to protect the king when need arises. So it is best if they just stay away and let the experienced guards do their job.

Since Reed is expected to go the extra mile, Ace told him to pass close to the upper floor where the king slumbers more than ten times but he should never go nearer. He probably said this so that the guards take note of him and when they asked they can prove for him . However the distance he told him to stand wouldn't allow anyone to see anything therefore there is literally no point in doing something like that? What was basically said was be close to the king but don't intrude, be seen by everyone but not as a decoration.

When Reed complains about this to himself, it sounds like Ace is really trying to make Reed the best guard but to others he has it easy on them and allows them VIP benefits like sleeping at nine pm and cumulatively as a group patrolling the whole place only twice.

Maybe the harsh attitude that Ace displays, is the reason why most people quit being imperial guard. They can't stand being expected to fulfill ridiculous demands so they leave. As for Reed, he would leave this place and beat Ace before doing so but one thing worse than getting Ace angry is disobeying Jakhyer and the celestial bodies.

Jakhyer is his 'overseer' and the bodies are his creator or simply put Jakhyer is his guardian and the bodies are his parents. If he quit, Jakhyer would torture him for rebelling but the bodies would simply just erase him from existence. He was easy to create and he will be easy to destroy. He can try to hide from Jakhyer but it is impossible to hide from the bodies.

He sat up straight and he started to think of a place that he is suddenly going to emerge. His colleagues didn't see him sleep and the many guards didn't see him patrol , so what is he going to say he was doing and where is he going to say he was? He doesn't know a lot of the places here and can still get lost but today he is going to have to cook up a believable lie even if it doesn't free him from Ace.

Since he was already water , he could just turn to mist and move to the furthest part of the palace.

As he was still seated , he dissolved into drizzle and flowed towards the back part of the palace .The instant be became airbourne, he heard Ace talking and asking to stay by the king's side. Immediately hearing that Reed made a U-turn back to the king's balcony.He landed outside still in the same form and he listened inside the room through the not sound-proof doors.

" Sir, atleast let me stay outside until you get better.", Ace spoke in a soft tone unlike the way he is always barking at Reed.

" It doesn't matter. You're not going to make me heal faster. Just go and work. I am fine", he answered sounding like he had inhaled dirt.

' the king is sick! ', Reed thought and quickly he turned to a human figure of denser value. He learned closer to the door to listen

" Father , look at yourself. You are like a bunny. With red eyes and a faded skin color. You can't say you are fine", Yevana scolded him like his mother and he apologized like her son

' he is really unwell!! ', he got worried and was tempted to throw open the doors but he hesitated and lowered his arm that had already elevated to thrust inside.

' was he sick last night? How come he sounded fine? When did he get sick? I was literally nearby. How did he get sick? What is he sick with? ', he questioned himself like he passed him the illnes and he tried so immaculately not to go inside the house and check his condition.

His concern was worsened by that he can't see anything from out here but the king sounds awful. It gnawed him not to know what is happening with him .

"All of you are overreacting! I am fine..", he croaked like a broken volcano. He definitely burst a lot of alveoli in that single moment.

Reed exclaimed loudly in shock but quickly dissolve in to finer drizzle before the audience could get suspicious . However the instant he did that loud sound , the king had continued talking and hacking screechingly such that they didn't even hear Reed properly.

" I must have milk allergies." , He joked and hawked again. This time Yevana told him to stop speaking as he is wearing out his vocals.

" Father, your sense of humor must be rendered illegal. How are you suddenly allergic to milk and catching a cold even if you haven't drank a single spoon of it? ", She questioned him and he replied that it must be a weird reaction to something else .

Yevana stopped arguing with her father who was acting like a toddler. She told him that she was going to have them hurry up with carrot soup and cold medicine. Even if he hates all that stuff, today he is going to like them. After that she stepped out. She was so bossy just like Marya and it made him a little warmed by the resemsblance but he didn't say a word nor did he smile.

" I know you didn't come here because of my milk allergies. So what is your reason? ", The king asked before he erupted again. This time his bronchi must have been injured. Literally it is amazing how his condition has gotten to the state where he seems like he has been sick for years though it is probably been just a few hours.

" more wolves were spotted by the border and a few more graves were found unearthed. The coffins were untouched but they had scrappings on them. Some bodies are gone and the missing children haven't been found ", he answered with his head bowed and instead of the king commenting he hacked even more deafingly.

" Go and check the extremeness of all of that yourself and bring all the manpower you need. But make it quiet and don't use magic yet. ", He ordered him and he whooped some more.

Ace agreed and he pronated out of the room . He wouldn't have minded staying with the king but he is right. This matter is dead serious and ignoring it now is only going to generate more problems. However from what the king said , it is impossible to do this without using magic. The vague report he just gave him was conducted by non-magic-using detectives and it generated more questions that answers. So if they want to get to the bottom of this or atleast in the right path, cultivation magic is a must.

A few seconds after he left another knock came on the door and a guard walked in. He was carrying two small gift boxes both the size of a notebook. They looked like they would contain expensive pieces of paper with how well they was decorated.

" Sir, the priest said to give thy this book as per your request.", He explained and he handed it to him before he stepped out of the room.

The king sat upright and he opened the first box.

It had three gorgeous dream-catching talisman inside. Two were red and the other blue. Each had a satin tail and a silver hook. The design was very simple but it was still very exquisite without being loud and inappropriate for casual wear.

The second contaier had a golden leaf clip inside. It appeared like a feather with how aethetic it was but it was definitely a leaf sculpture of the famous purification tree used by wolves. He closed the box and he placed took out a red talisman before placing both the boxes inside the nightstand.

Immediately Yevana strode in and she found her father holding the piece of jewelry. It was stunning but she didn't know what it is.

" This is a protection charm. Keep it with you. I couldn't find one in pink but I hope you like the red colour. Also please don't feed me carrots. I am not a duck", he ruined a beautiful moment, making Yevana take the talisman agressively. It wasn't rude but as a way for being sassy.

" If this is a bribe, I accept it because I am corrupt. But I won't listen to you because corrupt people are selfish. You are eating the soup" , she scoffed at him and she walked to his closet to get him change into something more warmer and cosier than what he was wearing .

The king whinned and whimpered while coughing his lungs out. From time to time he would sneeze while blowing his nose.

If he stayed here any longer, he might run into the room and start tendering to the king like they were personal. It was incredibly challenging to just stay outside and listen to him like that. Every single sound that he made was magnetised to Reed compelling him to just push the doors open since they were visibly unlocked.

Reed jumped from the balcony and he flew to the front part of the palace where he would meet Ace to receive his daily dose of reprimand