Everything took place within a fraction of a moment.
With uncanny strength, the figure hurled the lead robber’s body toward his companion, who was charging at Aunt Reta with equal ferocity.
The lead robber’s body was yet to leak blood from the fatal wound it had just suffered. And before the injured could even process the feelings of pain, he found himself getting hurled toward his ally at an uncontrollable momentum.
The two robbers collided and ended up being sent to one side of the farmhouse, crashing against the wooden wall that had already been damaged due to the effects of the Spirit spell used inside the house earlier.
Swoosh. Crash. Boom.
The two robbers crashed onto the wall at the same time, obliterating it with the sheer force they generated because of their momentum and mass. A sword appeared in the hand of the third player and he charged at the two robbers before they even had a chance to process what just had happened to them.
Swing. Chop. Sever.
The two robbers’ heads were severed from their torsos effortlessly as the sword coated in the late-stage Spirit Refining essence cut through their flesh and neck bone effortlessly. The headless corpses started spilling blood in huge quantities, painting the debris of the broken wooden wall red.
As the dust settled, Aunt Reta turned to see Aksai standing before her, her relief palpable.
“Aksai!” she exclaimed, her voice a mix of surprise and gratitude, echoed by her son’s joyful cry “Big brother!”
The presence of Aksai filled them with newfound hope amidst the chaos.
The sword vanished from Aksai’s grip as he approached Aunt Reta, his expression tightening as he sensed her condition with his Spirit Sense.
‘Was… Was I still too late? I feel that she utilized some sort of secret technique that enabled her to use her life force in this battle. I can sense she has compromised her foundation and depleted a significant portion of her remaining lifespan,’ Aksai pondered silently in his head, detecting the turbulent qi within Aunt Reta’s body.
Since delving into the Qi Fusion Arts, Aksai had honed his ability to perceive subtle variations in Spirit cultivators. Though individuals like Aunt Reta remained unaware of the qi’s presence, it permeated their bodies, even without dedicated cultivation techniques or martial arts. It was just that the mortals and Spirit cultivators who were uninitiated in the body cultivation had slumbering qi within their bodies.
‘I should heal her first.’
Seated beside the injured woman, Aksai retrieved a healing talisman from his belongings. He had acquired a stockpile of these from Aunt Reta in the past, and she too possessed a few in her arsenal, though they had remained unused during the skirmish.
Without acknowledging the barrage of inquiries from Aunt Reta and Ruan, Aksai swiftly applied the talisman to the injured woman’s forehead. Activating it with his own Spirit essence, the talisman dissipated into the air, its healing properties taking effect.
In the next moment, Aunt Reta’s injuries started healing at a visible rate. The flesh mended on its own and the bleeding stopped. The grevious wounds turned into light wounds and the previously light injuries completely disappeared.
‘This…this is not enough. Her life force is still fading. The qi in her blood is getting dispersed,’ Aksai ruminated inwardly as he clasped Aunt Reta’s wrist, assessing her pulse.
Aware that Aunt Reta’s unresolved injuries were not the primary concern at this juncture, Aksai fretted over the depletion of her life force during the battle. Unlike physical wounds, life force couldn’t be replenished with mere talismans.
Replenishing lost life force required delving into body cultivation techniques or consuming rare elixirs capable of revitalizing it—both options unavailable to Aunt Reta in her current state.
“Don’t worry, Aksai. I know what I did, and I don’t regret it,” Aunt Reta reassured him, a smile gracing her lips as she anticipated his concerns.
Turning her gaze to her son, she continued, “I’d do it all over again if faced with the same situation.” Tenderly caressing her son’s face with her free hand, she wiped away his tears.
With the knowledge that she had merely two or three years left to live after expending her life force in battle, Aunt Reta found solace in her son’s safety.
Drawing a deep breath, Aksai locked eyes with Aunt Reta before addressing both her and Ruan in a solemn tone.
“Alright. You guys should already know what has caused this mess. We can’t remain here any longer. There’s a carriage awaiting us outside. Gather all the essentials you can carry. We’ll be leaving the Lakir estate shortly,” he instructed, rising to his feet.
Thanks to the restorative effects of the healing talisman, Aunt Reta had regained enough strength to stand. Nodding in agreement with Aksai’s plan, she employed Light Steps to hasten in the direction away from the farmhouse.
Sensing impending danger earlier, she had stashed her wealth and a copy of the 2nd order talisman outside her home, now intent on retrieving them while Ruan attended to collecting their remaining belongings from within the farmhouse.
Aksai had spent many hours to get to Wuyum County. He had practically run for the entire night to get to the Lakir estate where the farmlands given on rent to many Spirit farming families were located.
Somehow, Aksai had also managed to hire a carriage and a few sellswords using the wealth he had. The mercenary group had six mid-stage Spirit Refiners who were being led by a Spirit Refininer in the 7th stage. On paper, the mercenary was as powerful as Aksai. However, through years of experience, the mercenary leader could sense that he was not Aksai’s match despite the latter’s youthful appearance.
Aksai knew that he couldn’t rescue Aunt Reta and her son using just his powers alone. In such a chaos that had erupted in every part of Wuyum County, traveling in small groups was as good as painting a target on one’s back. As such, he had made use of his wealth to employ the power of mercenaries.
Of course, Aksai had hired a mercenary group after taking various things into account. He wouldn’t be stupid enough to hire someone he couldn’t handle on his own.
While Ruan and Aunt Reta gathered their belongings, Aksai made his way to his own farmhouse for one final inspection. To forever etch the image of his childhood house in his memory for the one last time.
However…
As he surveyed the wreckage of his rental property, regret welled up within him.
Stepping into the dilapidated house, he noted the absence of his accumulated Spirit grains, pilfered by unknown intruders.
“Maybe… I shouldn’t have come to take a look.”
With no one to safeguard his property, the robbers had free rein, plundering valuables and vandalizing what they couldn’t take. The already decrepit state of his home now appeared even more desolate in the aftermath of the intrusion.
“These f**king hyenas!”
A mix of regret and indignation churned in Aksai’s stomach. It wasn’t merely the loss of his Spirit grains and a handful of spirit stones that incensed him, but the wanton destruction inflicted upon his possessions.
Surveying the remnants of his once-cherished childhood sanctuary, Aksai sighed heavily. While he held fond memories of the tranquility this place once offered, he recognized the necessity of moving on.
His tenure as a rental farmer for the Lakir family had come to an end, and lingering in sentimentality served no purpose.
“Thank… Thank you for sheltering me until now. It’s time for me to leave. But don’t worry—I won’t allow others to disrespect you in the future.”
Aksai muttered to himself, offering a silent bow to the empty confines of his home. With resolve hardening his features, he raised his hands and snapped his bloody fingers that were coated in his recent victim’s blood.
[ Sea of Flames ]
The orange-yellow flames suddenly filled Aksai’s vision. They bit into the dilapidated wood as if it were the most ideal form of food for their consumption.
As the flames consumed his dilapidated abode, Aksai emerged from the inferno.
With another snap of his fingers, his rental farm transformed into a fiery spectacle, billowing smoke into the air and adding to the chaos that had gripped the region.
“Goodbye,” Aksai said to himself without turning back.
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AN: Song dedication for this chapter: “Take Me Home, Country Roads” by John Denver. 🙂