Kent immediately appeared in front of the young man, blocking his path. The young man froze, his eyes wide with panic, and stumbled back a step.
He was sneaking around, after all, so getting caught completely off-guard startled him. Kent had used the teleport skill to appear before him, making his sudden presence even more alarming.
“Hey, easy there,” Kent said, holding up his hands in a calming gesture. “I don’t mean you any harm, just wanna talk.”
The young man hesitated, looking for an escape route. But then his brain did some quick calculations, and he decided to calm down and listen to the man.
After all, he had been 300 meters away, yet this man appeared before him as if they’d been standing face to face. There was no escaping him even if he gave it his all.
“I mean it,” Kent continued. “I just want to talk. Look, I’m looking for Li Hua and her grandma. You know them, right?”
“And what is your name, by the way?” Kent asked, making sure to ease the tension.
“Chen,” the young man replied, his breathing starting to even out.
“Okay, Chen. Can you tell me when you last saw Li Hua or her grandma?” Kent asked.
“Uh, it was two days ago,” Chen said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I saw Li Hua early in the morning. But that was all for that day.”
‘Hmm, looks like she was alright until two days ago,’ Kent thought, his mood lifting a bit.
“Okay. Did she seem worried when you saw her two days ago?” Kent asked again.
“Not that I can think of. However, I did hear something funny during the night. But since it wasn’t any of my business, I never bothered to check. Well, I checked today since Li Hua didn’t bring cake.”
“Something funny? Care to elaborate?”
“Yes. I heard some dragging, like something—furniture being dragged across the floor.”
Kent’s expression turned serious as he leaned in slightly. “Dragging furniture? Did you hear voices or anything else unusual?”
Chen nodded hesitantly. “Not really voices, just the sound of things moving around. It was late, and I figured it was just them shifting stuff in the house. They bake a lot; maybe they were moving supplies or something.”
“I see,” Kent muttered.
‘It looks like the bed that was dragged was what he was talking about,’ Kent thought, his expression shifting slightly. This situation was getting more confusing by the minute.
“Do you know where Li Hua and her grandma might go if they were in trouble? Or maybe a place they’d visit to relax? Did Li Hua ever mention anything like that?” Kent asked, keeping his tone calm but focused.
Chen furrowed his brow, clearly trying to recall. After a moment, he nodded.
“Li Hua did mention a shed in the woods once. She said she and her grandma used to go there to relax sometimes. It’s a little far from her but just a short walk past the river on the village’s outskirts.”
Kent’s eyes lit up with a mix of hope and determination. “A shed in the woods… That’s good to know. Thanks, Chen. You’ve been really helpful.”
Chen shrugged. “I just hope they’re okay. Li Hua’s a good person, and her grandma… well, she can be a little strict, but she means well.”
“I’ll find them,” Kent said firmly. He retrieved a pouch and gave it to Chen.
Before he could open it, Kent was already several kilometers away. Chen finally opened the pouch, and his eyes widened. Just like that, Kent had changed his life, gifting him 20,000 spirit stones.
After teleporting dozens of times, Kent stopped and began walking instead. Soon, he arrived at the river Chen had mentioned.
He crossed it swiftly and continued toward the shed Chen had described. Of course, since he didn’t know the exact location, he relied on his divine sense, scanning the 12-kilometer radius thoroughly.
He wasn’t in a rush, so even after two hours, he had only covered a few miles into the woods. Along the way, he noticed several spirit beasts between Tier 1 and Tier 3 in the area.
[A/N: Spirit Beasts share the same cultivation base as humans, but their levels are measured in Tiers. Tier 1 corresponds to Root Awakening…and the progression follows a similar pattern.]
They posed no real challenge to him, so Kent didn’t pay them much attention. Of course, a few dared to confront him, only to fall swiftly under his sword.
Five hours later, he still hadn’t found the shed, and the weather began to shift. The night was approaching, but Kent didn’t care.
An hour later, his senses detected a small shed a few kilometers to the east. Without hesitation, he teleported, appearing at the location within seconds.
It was a small woodshed. Everything was made of wood, but from the look of it, the wood wasn’t ordinary. Even after years, it still looked sturdy and showed no signs of losing its quality.
However, the door was kicked in and broken halfway. Kent’s senses immediately spread out, but he didn’t detect anything. This made him quickly rush in to see what was wrong.
The moment he walked through the door. However, an attack appeared right in front of him. It was so sudden that as soon as he creaked open the broken door, the attack reached him.
The next second, Kent was 2 km away from the house.
He had used [Teleport] at the last moment to escape. But he quickly made his way back to the shed again.
This time, however, he didn’t rush in. Instead, he decided to speak first. The fact that he wasn’t able to sense anyone, yet someone was inside the small house, made him fear for his life. However, he wasn’t about to leave—not just yet.
Of course, before saying anything, he had to ask the tower first.
<Tower, do you sense anyone inside?> Kent asked.
[Yes, master. A powerful soul cultivator is inside, but they are near death.]
<Near death.> Kent’s heartbeat slowed for a moment. Though he didn’t know Li Hua that well, he just couldn’t bear the thought of the little human dying—or worse, becoming someone’s puppet forever.
“Hello there. My name is Kent. I’m somewhat of a friend to the small little human called Li Hua. Well, we’re not exactly close, but I bought banana cakes from her and might have put a target on her back when I gave her spirit stones instead of copper coins.
“If you know something, please tell me. I have reasons to believe her life might be in danger because of my reckless actions, and I just want to help,” Kent said, walking slowly toward the door.
He didn’t know who was inside or why he couldn’t sense them. However, he wasn’t about to find out the hard way. This situation could turn dangerous quickly, and he wasn’t willing to take unnecessary risks.
Luckily for him, a voice came from the small house the next moment.
“Are you the handsome big brother who gave her the spirit stones?” the voice asked, sounding curious.
‘Handsome big brother?’ Kent clicked his tongue but decided to respond.
“Yes, I am the handsome big brother.” It sounded ridiculous, but he had to say it.
A few seconds later, the door creaked open wide.
“Enter…”