Chapter 175: Feud

Chapter 175: Feud

The Scholars showed no reaction to Jonah’s death. They were still stubbornly carrying out the agreement. Bran watched every move of the Scholars coldly. Since the Scholars wanted to study, he let them be.

Bran had his own things to do. He named this Mana — Darkness. Now he was trying to find his own Soul within his body. If he could find it, he would try to inject a small amount of it into his own Soul, but he was stuck.

Bran could sense the Souls that fell from the dead, but he could not find any trace within himself. After communicating with Huahua and the Ancient Tree, they searched each other’s bodies like monkeys picking lice, but they found nothing.

After the fruitless search, Bran had other thoughts. He shed his lazy demeanor and became sharp, as if ready to cut someone open at any moment. This made those who approached him shudder.

…

In the Sandstone City incident, Bran did not gain any advantage, but he did not suffer a loss either. Compared to his plan, he actually lost the entire city, but this kind of robbery with little cost made him quickly forget the gains and losses. For him, the event was completely over.

However, for others, everything was just beginning.

The instigators and victims of the event woke from the chaos. After regret, bitterness and resentment gradually accumulated. Most incompetent and cowardly people could learn to forget, or pretend to forget, living day by day in forced laughter.

But some were accustomed to revenge, without reason or greater purpose, as long as one condition was met — I was wronged.

Ruoti was not someone who could not bear any loss at all, but her loss was too great! So she could not let it go and had to take revenge. Her primary target was Kkel, her former, so-called friend.

Back then, when Kkel passed by her doorstep, if he had just warned, “The Northlanders are coming,” she would have taken her family and hidden. But this instigator coldly walked past her…

She, Shajia, Baixian, and many others were all brought there by him. There was no reward, only because they were friends.

Friends! She once felt proud and honored to have many friends. She ignored her family’s warnings and insisted on mixing with people like Kkel, blinded by their surface bravado and extravagance.

The past gatherings and arrogant laughter were all jokes. In the face of truly powerful forces, they were nothing. The strong did not bother with petty clowns, so they grew more and more arrogant.

What did her parents say back then? They sighed, “Sooner or later, you will suffer a great loss, and then you will understand.”

Yes, she understood. But it was too late…

…

Kkel, lying on the ground, looked at the sparrow hopping at the window and at Ruoti before him. He did not feel he owed them anything, at least not Ruoti. He had given a lot — food, drinks, entertainment, and many trivial efforts.

When something like this happened, everyone should accept their fate. At least, he would not cling to it relentlessly; that was just how the World was. They parted on good terms; he did not force these people.

When trouble came and they were unlucky, they started acting like victims. But what about the advantages they took initially? Had they all forgotten? I guess this is what they call bad judgment in friends?

Kkel shook his head slightly. His tendons in his wrists and ankles had been severed by Ruoti’s sneak attack. There was no chance left to turn things around; both sides knew each other’s abilities too well.

At first, things were fine in the Royal Capital. He stayed with relatives. Though inconvenient, he had no lack of food or clothing. At that time, the Anya Delegation was still there. Having learned his lesson, he carefully hid at home.

Rumors about that Northern Wizard spread more and more in the Royal Capital. He finally realized how lucky he was to have escaped after provoking such a person. And what made him most proud was that the Wizard, facing him, the mastermind, actually let him escape. But this pride had to be hidden in his heart; he could not, and dared not, speak of it.

The pride did not last long. He began to tremble with fear, all because of the might the Wizard displayed. If people here knew what he had done, the outcome was clear. He and his family became anxious, hiding indoors and not going out.

But this worry was unnecessary. They were just small figures; who would remember them? As time passed, his courage gradually grew again, and he began to mix in the glamorous World of the Royal Capital.

Relying on his own abilities, his life was comfortable, until accidents started happening.

First his grandfather, then his parents, his brothers, and finally the relatives who took him in. At first, some people came to check, but someone exposed what he did in Sandstone City, and then everyone disappeared.

No one dared to approach here anymore, and he could only wait quietly for the final moment.

A sparrow landed on the window, which gave him a flicker of joy. Someone was checking on him. Baixian, that alert girl, was always like this, cautious and careful.

He forced a faint smile and waved at the sparrow. And this was his last wave. A flash of blade light cut the tendons in his wrist. In agony and shock, the blade mercilessly severed the tendons in his ankles as well.

Then, Ruoti slowly revealed her form, watching him coldly.

…

Through the sparrow’s eyes, Baixian quietly watched it all.

She did not hate Kkel; she even felt some gratitude. When she first arrived in Sandstone City, Kkel provided much help. That was just how he was — he didn’t mind lending a hand when he could. He rarely quibbled over small things, which was why he made many friends. But he was not someone to rely on, because when faced with real pressure, he ran faster than anyone.

She truly did not hate him, because this time she ran even faster.

Though she had no support in the Royal Capital, as long as there were sparrows, she was not troubled. Some people always left small, valuable items on tables, even if just temporarily, and the sparrows would seize the chance to carry them away.

Her arrival noticeably increased theft cases in the Royal Capital, and more and more servants were wrongly accused, but that was not her concern. Back in Twofold Mountain, she learned one thing — a person must first take care of themselves.

Life in the Royal Capital was carefree, even when the Anya Delegation was swaggering about. The chaos gave her more opportunities, and her gains were good then.

The good days soon ended. Ruoti tracked the sparrows and found her.

She’s gone mad, was Baixian’s first thought upon seeing Ruoti. When Ruoti slowly revealed herself before her, a ghostly blue light flickered in her eyes like will-o’-the-wisps. Baixian knew the consequence of refusal, so she yielded.

From initially sheltering Ruoti to planning strategies for her, everything shifted naturally, just like when she helped Kkel back then. The idea was hers; she was the one who spread word of Kkel’s deeds.

Blood flowed from Kkel’s wounds, slowly gathering and spreading on the ground…

She heard Kkel’s slightly scornful and mocking voice before he died, “Satisfied? Too bad, you’ll never get your revenge.”

She watched Ruoti’s blade slowly cut through Kkel’s neck.

She saw ghostly fires burning in Ruoti’s eyes as Ruoti turned her head northward, as if able to see through all obstacles…