Ace was still in deep thought when he heard Eva beautiful voice,
"Hmph! You face the crisis alone again, and that was not what we agree upon. You even promised me!" Said Eva while pouting as she turns her head around. She was clearly displeased and angry because of what Ace dose.
Anger adds even more charm to her ravishing beauty and Ace was bewitched by her for a moment, "I-I admit I was wrong but there was no time to consider we were surrounded and I thought it was more convenient to escape for me alone and I also don't want to put you in danger."
Ace's face reddens as he said that, he was clearly telling lie about escaping alone. If he tells her about Mathies incident she would definitely pester him to no end so he didn't tell her about it. But he does tell truth about not wanted to put her in jeopardy.
Eva saw Ace redden face from the corner of her fox-like eye and huff, "Hmph! I'm not talking to you anymore you are a trickster."
Ace smiled helplessly after seeing her acting like a spoiled child and an idea pop into his head he quickly takes out a white ring with mysterious symbols from his thief's space. This was a storage ring that was in the collection of Dulce's treasures.
According to his guess, this ring should be equal to a 3-star weapon since he didn't know about the rune crafter's ranks.
Because the system always labels those stolen goods according to its own high standards and he wondered if these world treasures were just of low quality.
He didn't know that all the best treasures were found in royal lands though.
"Here this a real storage ring and this is a hundred times better than Rylan's, considers it my apology gift." Said Ace while he held out his hand to give her the ring.
Eva's eyes lit up the moment she hears Ace's words and quickly looked at the white ring in Ace's hand. She was going to grab it in excitement when she stops her hand because she remembers something that's her mother told her once.
"Here put it on my index finger and I'll forgive you." Said Eva gently as she presented her delicate right hand to Ace while heavily blushing for some reason.
Ace's eyebrows raised a little because of this particular request. But he didn't think much and do as she said he put the ring on her soft silk-like index finger.
Eva's heartbeat quickened as she saw the white ring and even her neck turn red. She looked at Ace shyly for some unknown reason with her beautiful eyes, the way she was looking at him has changed somehow.
It was as if she can't take it anymore and she quickly stand up and run gracefully out of the cave as if she has done something wrong and didn't dare to face Ace.
Ace was startled and didn't know what happened to her but she starts to act strange he could tell with his soul sense, it all happens when she made that strange request. He shook his head and think she should have something important to do alone so he didn't chase after her.
But Ace didn't know that he has done something quite big unknowingly and it cannot be undone anymore. If he knew what has happened here he would've shouted at her in panic, 'Are You CRAZY!!??'
Eva finally stops running beside a close water source to their temporary 'housing'. Sun was already starting to rise and the dark clouds start to clear away.
Eva was looking at the slowly rising sun while she holds the ring on her finger with her other hand.
Suddenly that ring vanished in her finger mysteriously and the next moment it appeared again. It was still crystal white but the pattern on it has changed somehow!
Eva seems to know what has happened and didn't look alarmed by this.
She only glance at the new ring and strange emotion bubble up in her heart and looked behind and saw Ace was not chasing after her, "Idiot!" He mumbles softly as she blushes.
She was looking ever more breathtaking in this dim light but no one was here to enjoy the view.
After she gets control of her chaotic emotions she returns to the cave and saw Ace was sleeping like a log. Maybe because he didn't chase after her or he was smiling while sleeping having a good dream Eva felt anger.
But it suddenly comes to her mind what he has done and suffers terrible news like the destruction of his hometown. So, her anger quickly vanished and she sits beside him and starts to brush his hair gently with her soft hand as she was looking at him tenderly with a gentle smile on her face.
Something comes to her mind and she starts to shake her head like crazy and her face turns as red as a strawberry. 'It's all this rascal fault to make me think about all this stuff and sleep on our first n...' She promptly stops her train of thought.
But she didn't know that Ace was fully alert and if he felt an unknown soul signature have entered the cave he would've definitely awake but the person was Eva and he didn't feel a sliver of bad intension from her so he keeps pretending to be sleeping and let her touch him, on the contrary, he was enjoying it.
Ace felt deep in slumber for the first time in many days because of Eva's presence.
-------
Far, far away from the low-level lands were Royal Lands also known as Lands of the Ancients.
The density of the Qi here was thousands of times denser than any other lower lands on the whole continent because the royal lands were in the center of the Azure-Wind Continent.
In an unknown mountain of the royal lands, at the peak of the mountain was filled with cloudy green mist, this mist was not ordinary but it was Qi because the density of the Qi here was so thick it turns into a form of cloudy mist.
Surrounded by this cloudy mist was an Abode in the center of the mountain peak.
It was as if an immortal was lived here in peace. This abode seems simple and normal at first sight, but if one sees it carefully, one will notice many strange symbols engraved outside on the abode walls.
Inside the abode was dark but one could vaguely saw a crossed leg sitting silhouette like a status. No one knows how long it was sitting in this position but there was not a single sign of breathing or movement coming from its body.
Suddenly a green light conjured out of thin air and enter between that silhouette eyebrows.
'pppucpp'
The moment it happens the closed eyes of the status like silhouette shot open and he vomits a small puddle of blood.
His face comes to light and it was filled with lite wrinkles, his hair was black, and he has a small beard on his wrinkled face. He seems like a man in his fifty's but his eyes were as bright as blazing fire and filled with life.
But because of that green light, his complex has started to turn pale, and even more, wrinkles were appearing on his face, he becomes somewhat like an old man in his sixties.
"W-WHO JUST WHO DARE TO KILL THIS OLD MAN CULTIVATION CLONE??!!?"
He roared like an angry lion and all the mountain peaks tremble with his anger. The cloddy mist starts to create cyclones and lightning sparks here and there because of that old man's power.
He was the exact cultivator whose clone [Mathies] was killed by Ace a week ago in moon forest.
The old man was fuming with fury and hatred for the culprit who messes with his special 'sacred technique' that he was cultivating for hundreds of years. Abruptly, foreign memories start to enter his brain.
He saw the whole life of Mathies and becomes astonished as he keeps looking at the memories. At the end of the memories, he becomes shocked when he sees Ace performance and him killing his clone at the very end.
His breath becomes rigged after seeing all these events, but he was a sly old fox that has lived for almost a thousand years and quickly calm down.
But his eyes were shining like torches as a sinister smile creep out on his old face. Before he was looking like a peaceful buddha but now this smile was currently looking like a wicked demon.
"White crown, ehh. It seems like they're still as sneaky as ever, and it looks like that pup was left alone by those two experts so no one can find or come after him. But he has some ground-breaking secret that they were left with him for safekeeping. Maybe white crown was after that secret too." He frowned deeply as he mutters.
He knew exactly what white crowns represent!
"But this clone was utterly an idiot! He has even managed to fool those two but he ends up died in the hands of a brat that wasn't even in Qi Foundation Realm what an utter disgrace to my name!"
"Well he only has my 10% intelligence so I can't expect more from him but now I have to create a sacred clone again to complete my cultivation technique. Just why the hell this technique has so many strange requirements!"
"I can't go after him with this kind of situation, it seems like I have to take control of that clone if I want to capture that brat." Mumbles the old man as a cold glint flashed past his eyes before he closed them again!