Chapter 41

Walking a certain distance down the bustling street, Yuri was in the mindset to buy some gifts for her husband and children at the stalls as usual.

Today was her precious day off. She planned to give her family some surprises.

"My child, my child!"

Suddenly, Yuri found a dusty-faced, disheveled-haired woman seated in a wall corner with a blank expression, murmuring something to herself.

She felt that the woman looked somewhat familiar to her, yet she couldn't recall her name.

After casting a glance at the woman, Yuri found her quite pathetic.

So, Yuri walked up and offered a soybean cake to the filthy-faced woman.

"Have it. Sigh... This day and age is of so much hardship! "

She then rose to her feet and was about to walk away.

"Snap!"

She suddenly sensed an icy, slippery, wet hand holding tightly around her right wrist.

"Have you seen my child?"

A voice floated over.

Yuri was startled and looked over her shoulder. The owner of the freezing-cold hand was right, the expressionless woman.

Her eyes were bloodshot, riveted firmly on Yuri as though they were going to pop out from the eye sockets.

"What are you doing? Let me go!"

Yuri was frightened and hastily broke free of the woman's grip before backing away a few steps.

"What's wrong with you?" Yuri cried out.

The woman appeared as though she heard none of these words, with her eyes fixed on Yuri as before.

Yuri cursed inwardly before lowering her head and leaving in a huff. Now, Yuri was in no mood to buy anything, and her wrist, which had been grasped by the expressionless woman, was aching.

After walking through this street, she turned into an alley, planning to take a shortcut to her home.

This route, though deserted, could save her a big chunk of time.

She made a few turns from one alley to another along the way. On both sides of these alleys were plain-looking single-storey houses. The ground was awash with filthy water and strewn with trash.

Yuri glanced at her wrist and found that it was turning red.

"What a stroke of bad luck, sigh... I guess I have to put some salve on my wrist."

She leaped across an ill-smelling puddle of water, yet her pink embroidered shoes were still stained with some black spots. She grew more upset now.

She stomped her feet and took a few steps forward.

"Pong."

She seemed to run into someone head on.

Then, Yuri lifted her head.

"Have you seen my child?"

It turned out to be the stony-faced woman just now!

Yuri's heart was pounding wildly against her cage of ribs now.

She backed up a few steps and did not mind her shoes splashing into the foul-smelling pool of water.

"You... you... you..."

The crazy woman's bloodshot eyes were transfixed on Yuri as she murmured,

"My child, my child."

Yuri turned around and had the intention of fleeing straight away.

"Snap."

A withered hand clasped tightly around Yuri's forearm.

"Have you seen my child?"

The madwoman's face was blank as before while she repeated this sentence.

"Help....!"

No sooner had the word escaped Yuri's lips than the alley resumed its quietude.

...

Three days later, at the Le Mansion.

Le Xaan's Second Mother, Louir Cayv, seated on a wooden chair, was inquiring a relative of Yuri while furrowing her brows,

"Why hasn't Yuri returned home yet? She left our Mansion three days ago."

This relative of Yuri's was a man, reeking of an unpleasant earthen odor. He now stood there while feeling awkward.

"My eldest sister typically returns on time. But this time she hasn't. Our family is worried about her safety, so I am dispatched here to ask about her..."

Louir Cayv shook her head.

"I am sure that she left three days before. When she departed, she took some pieces of dried smoked meat and a bag of soybean cakes from the kitchen. Where could she go after so many days without returning home?"

Louir Cayv was now also a little concerned about Yuri.

Suddenly, hasty cries were heard from outside the room.

A servant girl ran into the room in panic.

"Madam Cayv, it's no good! It's no good!"

"What happened?" Louir Cayv jumped to her feet, and her face darkened.

The man also turned to look at the maidservant.

"Yuri's body was found in an alley on the city outskirts. She had already died a few days earlier."

The maid's words astonished both Louir Cayv and the man.

"She had died...?"

Louir Cayv sat back down heavily onto the chair, her expression betraying her shock.

A few days later...

Le Xaan carefully felt the blade in his hand.

As Dark Shadow Qi was channeled into the saber, he could sense a current of hot air pouring out from his palm and spreading throughout the blade, leaving it coated with the Qi.

By now, his body had been fully recovered.

He planned to elevate Dark Shadow to 'The Second Level' today.

His body was currently more accustomed to the stimulus posed by Dark Shadow Qi. And he believed that the damages resulting from the modification on Dark Shadow should be less severe than before.

"Swish! Swish! Swish...."

He began to practice Black Tiger Blade Style.

The set of blade techniques had only three moves, which could be choreographed into dozens of sets of combo.

He exercised all the sets of combos in one go that both he devised himself and Elder Zaner imparted to him.

In the open space before the hut, Le Xaan waved his blade swiftly through the air, bringing about a constant stream of crisp noises.

As he swung the saber at extremely high speed, the afterimages of the weapon made for a silver-colored ball enveloping his figure.

The set of blade style's three moves are all chopping, thereby giving its practitioner a ferocious and mighty aura.

Le Xaan practiced each of the three moves dozens of times continuously, and he felt like his blood was racing all over his body. He channeled Dark Shadow's Qi into his blade from time to time, significantly increasing the moves' power.

After his body was fully energized, he stopped his practices and called out mentally.

"Deep Blue!"

The cheat tool's window popped up.

Le Xaan pressed the button straight away and then focused his mind on the stats of Dark Shadow.

"Up by one level!"

He muttered inwardly.

In a heartbeat, Dark Shadow hopped from 'The First Level' onto 'The Second Level'.

Yet, the process was a bit slower than the last time, though the difference was almost indiscernible.

As soon as this change took place, Le Xaan sensed Dark Shadow's inner body Qi growing exponentially. A huge amount of the Qi was springing up out of nowhere. They merged with the already existing Qi, now gathering around both his kidneys like two fist-sized balls.