Brother

Adrian sat down amidst the pile of rubble and started pondering over his next move. He obviously had to leave, but he didn't know where to go from here. He decided to at least get out of the Thorne estate first before deciding his next move. When he finally made up his mind, he pulled himself out of the destroyed building and slowly made his way out of the Thorne estate.

Since the two demonic cultivators had chased him out of the main pavilion where his immediate family resided, it didn't take long for him to reach the entrance of the estate. Perhaps he was lucky, but he didn't encounter any demonic cultivator on patrol, which made it easy for him to leave unnoticed.

He didn't bother avoiding the formation at the entrance. He had deduced that it was most likely a concealment and illusion formation meant to obscure the view of others from outside. He slowly walked out and quickly made his way into an alley, before he was spotted by those black robed individuals. 

While he didn't show it, he had been very tense, up until this point in time. Though he wasn't injured anymore, the mental toll of the previous experience was still enough to make him tired and weary.

He dragged his body to a nearby inn, where he spent the rest of the afternoon recuperating. 

Meanwhile, deep underground, a pale-faced old man stood with a frown on his face. His eyebrows were crumpled up, and he couldn't hold back before finally cursing. 

"Damn it, where the hell are those two?

It's been almost half a day since I sent them to retrieve that item. Why aren't they back yet?"

"If I find out that those two are slacking off, I'll grind them into meat pastes."

This old man was Elder Crow. The one who sent those two Nascent Soul realm demonic cultivators to retrieve the patriarch's token. 

He was currently the one left in charge of searching for loot and pillaging the treasury. The other powerful demonic cultivators who took action had already left and returned to their respective bases. 

They couldn't be gone for too long in order not to arouse the suspicion of the masters of the orthodox faction. 

That was why Elder Crow, who was only at the Transcendent realm, was left in charge of the remaining logistical operation. 

"P-Perhaps something happened to them. Since it was an order from Elder Crow, those two surely wouldn't have the gall to waste your time." One individual plucked up his courage and responded. 

"Hmm?" Elder Crow's deathly glare landed on the individual who had just spoken as he turned to face him. 

Facing the scrutinizing gaze of Elder Crow, the man did not dare to meet his gaze as he could only lower his head and stared at the ground.

Seeing the man's reaction, Elder Crow didn't react much. Rather, he was pondering on the words of the man. While he didn't want to admit it, the man had a point. 

Coming to this conclusion, he couldn't help but let out a sigh before pointing out two individuals.

"You two, go back up and find out what's taking those two dimwits so long." The individuals he pointed out merely bowed their heads before turning around to fulfil the order. 

"We've come this far. Nothing must go wrong!" Elder Crow muttered under his breath. 

Meanwhile, Adrian, who had finally recovered from his mental fatigue, had already left the inn. Following the pattern he had previously used, he quickly made his way back to the inner region of the city. 

He had already formulated a basic plan in his mind. He made his way towards a house in a secluded corner of the inner region. This house, just like the one in the outer region, belonged to the Thorne family.

Only the members of the main branch had permission to use it. Despite being unoccupied, it wasn't abandoned. Maids could be seen entering the house and cleaning it every few days. 

Without hesitation, he made his way into the house. Without wasting any time, he rushed to the basement. The house actually had a tunnel that connected it to an escape room in the House of Thorne.

This was a well-guarded secret that only those in his immediate family knew. It was a last-ditch effort to escape in case something went wrong. This was Adrian's last hope. He was hoping that some people escaped and that he wasn't the only one left in the house of Thorne.

Adrian arrived at the house at sunset. He could have gotten there faster, but he had to avoid the people of the demonic sects that were still patrolling the streets.

He took careful steps as he was trying to find out if anyone was there. He found some evidence of activity, which made him vigilant, but he still didn't see anyone.

Finally, he approached the door to the room that led to the tunnel. As he opened the door, a sharp knife whizzed through the air and was about to pierce through his chest. He caught it just before it landed. Just as he was about to draw his sword, he saw a young boy of about 12 years old shaking while holding a knife.

"D-Don't come any closer", the clearly frightened boy said. Because he was in the doorway, Adrian was shrouded by the glare of the sun that was coming in through the window. Along with the hood on his head, it was hard for the boy to see his face clearly. Adrian walked into the room slowly while removing the hood on his head.

When the boy saw who it was, he involuntarily dropped the knife while stammering.

"B-Brother?" The boy said just as he saw the figure who walked in. The last person he expected it to be was his brother. After all, the last time he saw his brother was before he left for the Misty Mountains. After being shocked for a few seconds, the boy ran up to Adrian and jumped into his arms as he burst into tears.