Leon did not head straight for the Lancaster Mansion. It was in the Upper North District, while he was in the Upper West District.
He would make a quick stop by the gang's headquarters first. He would tour the Lower North District in passing when he heads to the Lancaster Mansion. He wanted to assess the situation of the Lower North District considering the Red Salamander gang had such bloody auras.
"Who are you?" Manager Doug asked warily. He had become a 1st step earth-user, but his confidence did not grow. He had been on edge, while managing the nightclub all this while.
The two gangs that attacked them still had several 2nd step awakeners and anyone of them was stronger than him, a non-fighter. There was also a greater threat looming over them. He does not know when they would face the retaliation of the Grey family.
"Prepare a room for me." Leon's familiar voice rang out under his newly bought lion mask.
"Ah! B-Boss? Yes, right away." Doug felt his tensions relaxed once the boss was present. Only the boss had the strength to block the winds and rains. He would be disappointed when he learns that Leon wasn't staying for long.
The boss's temperament seemed quite eccentric. He could relate Leon's previous appearance to being inconspicuous and wanting to keep his identity hidden, but his current appearance was very conspicuous and was akin to screaming 'I am the boss of the Golden Lion gang!'.
Leon had found a nice lion mask and matching set of clothes on his way to the nightclub and bought it without second thoughts. It was more suitable to be worn during the day compared to his complete black attire, which would have been conspicuous in broad daylight.
The new attire was exquisitely designed and perfectly outlined the appearance of the golden lion. The attire could be mistaken as that worn by royalties if not for the quality of the material used. One could see that the seamstress was very skilled in what she does. He decided he would find the seamstress to tailor a few more sets of attire for him in the future.
Leon thought it was the perfect fit for the boss of the Golden Lion gang. One would question why he would want to stand out like a sore thumb, when the Golden Lion gang had enemies on all sides. He was just asking for trouble by making himself look like the Golden Lion gang boss even though no one knew what the boss would look like.
He was precisely hoping his enemies would come trouble him. The fight with instructor Eugene had awakened something inside him. Eugene was a difficult opponent that made him struggle and feel very uncomfortable, but it was these types of battles that would get his blood pumping and excited. He had gained many insights from the battle.
Only strong and powerful opponents could give him the adrenaline and desperation he needed in battle and force him to break limits and improve his skills swiftly. To tread the thin line between life and death as he overcome all obstacles was a life to die for. Only with the threat of death could he feel alive.
He is equipped with the skills and talents to be an assassin, but he longs for the life of a warrior. He cherishes his life but is also drawn to danger. He didn't know when he had become such a complicated creature.
Leon entered the room after receiving the room key. It was the same room he shared the night with Aria, but the person was gone. She had her day job to tend to. He locked the door and entered his world space.
The world space's life energy was recovering at a nigh imperceptible rate due to the sparseness of spirit energy in the world, but the herbs were growing well. Only one day was required to upgrade normal herbs to tier 1 spirit herbs.
There was a tenfold increase in duration for each successive upgrade though. 10 days for tier 2, 100 days for tier 3 and so on. If he wanted to increase the rate, he would have to find spirit energy-rich area of objects to feed his Book of Life. Although he doubted there was any in such a desolate world, he would keep an eye out for them.
Leon grabbed the necessary spirit herbs and exited the world space. Without any surprises, he fished out his pill cauldron and began concocting pills.
An hour passed and 3 sets of 2 pill bottles laid out in front of him, with a different use for each set, namely; True Awakening pill, All-Purpose Healing pill and Golden Ointment.
He handed one pill bottle of each set to manager Doug and left with some pain in his heart. The herbs used in the Golden Ointment was not cheap and was worth more than the other two combined. However, it was a necessary investment for the development of his gang.
He laments over how low he had fallen to be affected by such little money. He was the son of the Divine Medicine King and this amount of money would not even enter his eyes, but that was all in the past. He is now an orphaned commoner who had nothing to his name.
He realized how fortunate and blessed his last life was, but had taken everything for granted. He came to understand the meaning of failing to treasure what he possessed and only value what is lost.
He would not repeat his past mistakes and treasure everything important to him, namely; family and loved ones. Money and treasures were inconsequential compared to the above, but he still had to treat it care and not be extravagant.
Stepping foot into the Lower North District, his expression had a subtle change. The air was different to Lower West District. It felt thicker and hotter, but not so much in the literal sense as it is illusory. It was like a dense aura of despair and resentful clouding the entire Lower North District.
His expression finally turns grim when he noticed the streets lacked the hustle and bustle of the day and was devoid of people. There was no life to it. The two districts were both ruled by gangs, but situation of the two was far from the same. The Lower North District was in a far, far worse situation.
Noticing, the neat and clean clothing Leon worn, a weak and sickly little girl to him from an alley, not intimidated by his lion mask.
"Big brother, do you have any food?" The little girl had her hands extended, but hesitated to grab onto his clothes, afraid that she would dirty it and get in trouble. She was famished and did not ask for money. Could money be eaten?
As if she had overexerted herself, the little girl suddenly coughed up blood and fell over. Leon caught her in his arms before she hit the ground and felt her pulse. He was not affected by how dirty she was.
Leon's body shook as his eyes glistened red and looked at the face of the little girl. She should only be 5 or 6 years old, but she was missing a fucking kidney! How inhumane! The kidney of a child wasn't even useful!
He didn't take himself to be the sentimental type, but he felt both sad and angry for the little girl who was a stranger to him. The children are innocent and should not have to go through such experience!
He did not hesitate to pop an All-Purpose Healing pill in her mouth and help her absorb its medicinal efficiency. The lost kidney could not regrow but her wound from the organ harvesting would be healed. Since they had met, he would not turn a blind eye and leave her to die.
The Districts were separated by walls and the entrance were usually guarded by the gang members. Even the city guards did not want any involvement and had long abandon that area of jurisdiction to the gangs.
The Red Salamander gang members had long noticed Leon entering their territory and swiftly informed their superiors. The fame of the Golden Lion gang had spread last night after the survivors escaped.
Even if they were idiots, they could tell that even if Leon was not the boss of the Golden Lion gang, he was related to the Golden Lion gang.
Leon had ignored them earlier, but now a bigger group has gathered and surrounded him. They were all carried ironwood weapons and dense bloody auras with them. Leon had rage building up in him. These bastards all deserve to die!
The pill worked wonders and the little girl was back up and standing. She started shivering in fear after finding herself surrounded by a bunch of scary people.
"If you are scared, you should close your eyes and cover your ears."
She was very obedient and closed her eyes immediately.
"Who are you to the Golden Lion gang!?" The leader of the group, Hudson barked. He was the new elected boss of the gang, but he would not be able to enjoy for long.
Leon stood up and faced the crowd with a cold glint in his eyes.
"Dead men don't need to know." Leon's voice was laced with icy killing intent.. He would do humanity some good and rid the entire district of evil. He was no saint, but he will stand on the side of good to condemn evil today! This place was completely lawless that even children weren't spared!