Bluemill Village - A Mistake.
Two days since Shu He had set off from Silvernode, a shadowy figure stood atop the mountain as its black cloak flapped in the nights wind, under the cloak a barely visible black mask could be seen as the porcelain like material reflected the moons dim rays.
Two eyes could barely be seen in the small slits of the material, they were filled with contempt and hidden anger as the devastated bandit camp entered its eyes, it scoured the area in search of survivors but of course, there weren't any at all.
"…I knew we shouldn't have left it to mortals to collect them for us" A grim masculine voice that sounded like someone was trying to speak through a wood ripper broke through the silent breeze.
The mysterious man leaned off the cliff and fell into a free fall before slamming on to a boulder, leaving an indent in it and then stood up slowly, looking around.
He then pulled something out of his cloak, it was a small black orb that swirled with a deep abyss of dark colours, he held it up, and as he did from beneath the rocks small black strings that resembled smoke floated up and got sucked into the orb.
Eventually, all of the black smoke had dispersed, and the orb seemed to be ever so slightly darker.
"Tch, they died basically instantly, trash can't even be useful in death" The man complained as he stored the orb away and went silence for a moment.
"The lens… it's not here".
He then turned to the west, the way Shu He had set off.
"That way… it's moving? Quite fast as well…" Beneath the mask he frowned.
"So they were done in by a cultivator… how did they know? Was it just a coincidence?".
He closed his eyes as he sensed the surroundings, trying to pick up traces.
"I don't sense any remnants of Qi… is it a low level one? They wouldn't have needed to use such tactics if they were strong…"
He walked off the pile of rocks and into the cover of the trees.
"We're not in a hurry to get it back… but…" He murmured to himself "Oi, you lot" He yelled.
Three more shadows appeared in front of him and knelt towards him.
"What is it, sir?" The one at the front asked.
The black masked man threw a small device at the kneeling man who caught it, looking at it in confusion.
"Retrieve the lens, you know what failure means, right?".
"Y-yes sir!" All three of them said in unison before they set off immediately.
After the silence returned the man walked in the direction of Silvernode, staring at the lit town in the distance.
"Maybe I should finish the job myself?" He considered, but then shook his head "No, he'd get angry… those damn sects are still breathing down our necks, can't even have some fun without being chased to the ends of the world".
He sighed, and then disappeared into the darkness of the night.
…
It took 5 days for Shu He to make his way to the next village, it was an entirely uneventful journey; He had run for quite a while using his Qi to boost himself, but then realised just how draining on his Qi reserves travelling like that was and only did it now and then, he didn't want to be caught with his pants down and no Qi after all.
Either way, all he did was an occasional spot of hunting when he was in need of some food and create a makeshift campfire, his wood techniques plus the <
And now, he was just walking into the next village that went by the name of Bluemill Village, he could easily see why it had taken that name, in the distance was a massive water mill along a wide river, it had clear signs of wear and tear along with ivy growing up the side of it, but its most notable feature was its deep blue roof that resembled a clear nights sky.
He walked through the gates of the village without much trouble, there was only a single guard there as opposed to Silvernode and the walls themselves were only a couple meters tall and made of wood, it's clear that this village didn't have much in the way of valuables, so they weren't that worried about thieves or bandits targeting them.
The village was busy as villagers walked up and down the dirt paths carrying boxes, tools, or bags, as one passed him Shu He could smell the familiar scent of freshly cut grain making him feel slightly nostalgic.
He was rather surprised that he wasn't receiving many strange glances, a village this far out shouldn't be receiving that many visitors let alone someone dressed like him, so he felt it was a little odd, but he just accepted it as pleasant surprise.
"Excuse me!" As a man was passing him, Shu He called out with a enthusiastic expression plastered on his face.
The man turned to him, frowning slightly but then saw that Shu He was holding out a small bronze coin and his expression immediately turned welcome.
"What can I do for you traveller?" He asked, his hand gripping the coin.
"Is there a place where I can get something to eat around here?" Shu He said, his stomach begging for properly prepared food.
"Ahh, we don't have a restaurant here in our small town unfortunately…" Sweat dripped down the brow of the man as his grip tightened on the coin, Shu He didn't let go quite yet.
"But! Auntie Lu has a bakery on the north side of the village, it's the closest thing we have!"
Shu He let go of the coin, the man smiled and stored in his pocket.
"Thanks very much" He said, walking off.
"I-if you need to ask any more questions, go ahead and come to me!" He heard from behind making him chuckle slightly.
'I guess you don't earn much in the way of coins all the way out here' He thought as he headed towards the north, eventually he could pick up the smell of freshly baked bread, so he knew he was heading in the right direction, soon he saw a pathed town square with a small number of sturdier buildings and the smell was drifting right out of one.
There were a few wooden benches and stools outside next to an open window, a few people were happily sitting there eating bread and a drink with their children running around.
'Feels nostalgic' He thought as he shifted his hat, so it was hanging on his neck by the string, it was rude to enter an establishment like this with it on after all!
At least Shu He thought so anyway.
"Auntie Lu?" He asked as he stood at the window.
"And which bonehead told you to call me that?" A middle-aged woman appeared from the side carrying a basket of bread and grinning.
"A mean looking fellow with spiky hair" Shu He said, playing along.
"I know the one, tell me, I don't old do I?" She asked.
"Not a day over 20!".
She laughed heartily "You have some tact for your age, hear that you lot?!" She leaned out the window and shouted to the others sitting down as they laughed at her.
She then organised the bread out of the basked and turned back to Shu He.
"Now then, you're here for something to eat right? Because I certainly don't sell tools".
"I haven't eaten anything good for weeks, got any good meat here?" He asked.
"I'm a bakery, not a butchery" She looked at him, offended.
But she was just joking "Luckily for you I have some good, cured ham from Ju's butchers in the back, want me to make something nice with it?".
"Please, money isn't an issue".
"Well aren't you fancy! I'll take you up on that then" She grinned as he picked up a large roll of bread and went out back.
When she came back, she had a plate with a well stuffed sandwich on top, the bread was grain but well made and soft, there was juicy ham with lettuce, tomatoes, butter, and a sweet sauce.
'That looks expensive' Shu He realised he had underestimated this woman.
"I dug into my personal reserves here, it'll be 1 big silver and 5 small ones" She smirked, eyes gleaming as if they were ready to gouge out Shu He's pockets.
Shu He happily placed the coins on the counter and took the plate flashing her a smile "Thank you very much, it looks great".
She looked at the coins, slightly wide eyed as he walked to a table and sat down.
"Guess he wasn't kidding about the money…" He heard her murmur before she picked up the silver coins making him laugh quietly.
He got comfy on the bench before he tucked into the sandwich, enjoying the smoky sensation from the ham and the burst of freshness from the tomatoes and lettuce, the butter was nice and creamy as well, it was too often that butter was neglected in sandwiches in this world.
It only took him 10 minutes to go through the whole thing even though he was taking his time, unfortunately having eaten roasted meat and rations for a while he couldn't help himself.
'I won't be staying long in this village, there isn't anything I need to do here nor is there much of notice after all…'
His next stop would be the first place in his mission, Redaloy village; He planned to just sweep the perimeter with his sense and then move on, he suspects that Bronzeveil will be the place he will find traces, if any, because it's a town.
He leaned back slightly in his seat until he remembered something and pulled a small item out of his cloak, it was small and round.
It was the lens he had taken from the bandit leader!
He hadn't actually taken a proper look at it yet, in his rush to get to the next town it had slipped his mind, it was small and easily forgettable after all.
But since he was sitting here, basking in the fresh air, he thought he'd take a look.
He held the lens in front of his right eye and looked at the sky through it.
'Nothing'
This was expected.
Then he held it in front of him as he glanced at a man with his back facing him, the lens lit up lightly, but barely enough to be noticeable.
He then shifted to the child next to him, and it lit up only a titbit brighter.
'… What is it…' He wondered as he went to another man, it then lit up a clear shade brighter than before, and then he went over to the two children next to him and they had similar hues.
'…Maybe!'
He then held it over Auntie Lu who was walking his way and it lit up even brighter!
A pondering expression filled Shu He's face as Auntie Lu stood in front of him.
"What's that you have there?".
Shu He almost jumped, he was too caught in thoughts and forgot where he was as he lowered the lens.
"Ah, just a little relic, I… like to collect things like this, you see" He explained away.
"Oh, are you here for the ruins then?" Auntie Lu asked like she had figured him out.
"Ruins?"
"You're not? They're not that big but I know some people interested in history pass through to them every now and then".
"I'm interested, where are they?".
"Hmm I think they're about a days travel to the northwest? Never been there myself though".
'It's a little detour, but it's still on the way… maybe I'll take a look' Shu He adjusted his route in his head.
"Where were you planning to head to anyway? We've had more visitors than usual for a couple weeks, never got to ask why" She said with some confusion.
"Huh? You have?" Shu He's expression was filled with surprise.
"Yeah, they don't even stay for more than a day, never interact and only go to the inn".
"Odd…" Shu He frowned; he couldn't think of the reason why.
"I thought you were here for the same thing" She explained.
Shu He shook his head "We shouldn't be after the same thing".
He was here on a mission for his sect, and the important part was something only he would know of.
'The greyback mountain wolf… that shouldn't attract attention, even if it had ascended…'
"Well, you be careful out there, a lot of those folks looked like dangerous people" She said before she walked away, returning to her job leaving Shu He with a conflicted expression.
'Aren't I also dangerous?'
He shook of the thought and returned to the lens, leaning over it as it held it on the table.
He activated his 'sight' to take a better look at it, before he only glanced over it when he received it so he wanted to closer view.
The golden rim on the outside of the lens, and the lens itself was filled with tight formation symbols and patterns, it was without a doubt an expensive item and is likely hard to make, he didn't know what materials it was made of, but the thing was solid, he would be hard pressed to damage it.
And the value of the thing also rested in what it could do, or at least what Shu He thinks it does-
Measure the elemental capacity of a person!
It was all he could think of, it doesn't make sense to measure Qi with it, there are simpler devices for that, and why would they want mortals for their Qi? It was so paltry, a single cultivator would be far better.
Plus, Qi levels and capacity can be improved through cultivation, capacity at the mortal level is irrelevant.
But elemental capacity was something entirely different, it was set of birth and there are very limited ways to improve it, it was in essence a totalled version of the 5 elements formation test, one that measured discriminate of the element.
The question was, what did they want those people for?
Shu He frowned as he looked closer at the device, he saw something odd.
A wisp of Qi.
It wasn't his, it felt foreign, it wasn't generated by the lens either, maybe feeding it with the surrounding Qi.
Out of curiosity, Shu He flushed the small ember of Qi with his own, but it just washed over it and didn't affect it, even when he concentrated it all he could do was make it tremble slightly.
He felt stubborn so he called upon a very small thread of the golden Qi, being careful not to draw enough to harm himself and then-.
Stabbed it at the wisp!
POOF.
It disappeared like it never existed.
Shu He smirked 'Easy'.
And then he focused his azure Qi into the same spot, he quickly felt it being drawn in until it was full.
Now, a single wisp of key existed there again, except it was his own.
'Huh?' Shu He looked at the lens.
It felt like… he could feel where it was, like there was a small string pulling him to it.
'This a thing that can happen?' He was shocked, he would never lose it like this!
He smiled, but then paused.
'I would never…. Lose it?'
His brain processed the words, he felt his heart stop and his stomach drop.
'Then… the wisp I destroyed before was..!'
His expression turned grim as he stood up abruptly.
'I NEED TO LEAVE!'
Without waiting, he was gone from Bluemill within a few minutes, barely anyone even noticed when or how he left.