Chapter 127: Chapter 119: The Truth Behind the Turmoil (2/4)
"How could this be... no, nothing is impossible..."
Uttering those words in astonishment, the Elder raised his head to look Ian in the eye. Elder Prude himself didnât know how bizarre, excited, fearful, and bewildered his expression must be.
He didnât even know what he was thinking, his thoughts surged like a tide, and then quickly settled down.
"Whatever I say, you will leave, wonât you?"
The old man who knew the significance of revealing everything stared intently at the young man before him and said solemnly, "I canât stop you, you only wish for me to carry out your will, to see the future you want to see, correct?"
"Yes."
Ian replied without a second thought, without hesitation, without worrying that his words might enrage the Elder before him: "But, itâs the future that we both want to see."
"The future I can see is not solely my own, Elder, itâs also your will."
"Itâs just that you donât know it yet."
Silence.
"...Then go." Elder Prude exhaled deeply, closed his eyes, and then opened them again: "Prophets are arrogant... I didnât expect even a child to be so."
He reached out, taking the bewildered Elan from Ianâs hands.
"Take this." As he took Elanâs hand, he also passed an item from his waist to Ian.
The young man looked down and couldnât help but feel slightly startled.
Because what appeared in his hands was a heavy, silver, old-fashioned pistol.
"Itâs of no use against Second Energy Level." The old man spoke those meaningless words: "But be careful."
"I will, Elder." Ian replied just as meaninglessly, whispering softly: "I will come back."
"Brother..."
Elan spoke, catching the hem of Ianâs clothes as the young man turned to leave.
His voice made the young man who wanted to leave in silence sigh, his indifferent expression softened.
"Elan, be a good boy."
He crouched down and gently soothed him: "Stay with Elder Prude, and you wonât be in danger."
"Brother, we will go to the end of the world, together."
But Elan stubbornly spoke, his garnet eyes meeting the young manâs that shimmered with Spirit Energy Halo: "You and uncle... promised me!"
"I will."
Ian lowered his gaze and said calmly, bringing his face close to the boyâs ear and âwhisperingâ: "Donât worry, the treasure that uncle gave me is on me, there definitely wonât be any problems this time."
"Your brother wouldnât lie to you."
Smiling as he told the lie, Ian could see that the purple Spirit Energy Marks above Elanâs head vibrated, flickered, sending all the sounds within the room out.
And the crimson mist around Elan gradually thinned out.
Standing up, he turned without hesitation, opened the door to the room, and left.
The Elder and the Child watched his retreating figure, wanting to say something, but in the end, remained silent.
Ian, carrying all his equipment and items, headed toward Sigh Cliff to the south of the city.
He and Hiliard had agreed long ago that if anything unforeseen happened and they were separated in a crisis, they would meet up at Sigh Cliff â that place conveniently suited Ian for laying traps and setting up facilities.
Because the defenses mostly converged to the east of the city, the southwest was sparsely guarded, allowing the young man to quickly slip out of the city, then dash towards Sigh Cliff.
A Sublimator, if they chose to run, could easily exceed the theoretical limit of their Body.
Activating Origin Quality, utilizing enhanced muscles, relying on the optimized structure of his body for propulsion... every step could span more than ten meters, and even the vines and branches in the dense forest were nothing but frail spiderwebs to the sturdy Body of an earth-attributed Sublimator.
With the succession of thumping footfalls, the ground was left with a series of deep indents, and a trail of startled birds and insects took flight.
There was no need to worry about footprints, no need to worry about traces, for the rain and fallen leaves brought by the storm would erase everything.
As Ian moved through the jungle with ease, after two years of the most intensive training with Hiliard, he had long been able to leap nimbly through such complex environments, transforming into a swift shadow among the trees.
The downpour continued.
Sigh Cliff was enveloped by rolling dark clouds, as the raging wind carried dense moisture, beating against the cliffs, and water flowed like waterfalls on the surrounding sandy beaches, with the moist and warm sea fog washing everything between heaven and earth.
Upon activating Foresight View, Ian quickly found Hiliard.
Just as they had agreed, the old man was sitting quietly in a hollow at the bottom of Sigh Cliff, his golden halo around him now very dim and pale, almost white.
"I brought hemostatic medicine, the best stuff Brin gave me as an apology last time."
Without any superfluous words, Ian came to his teacherâs side and took out a jar of pale green ointment with a faint fatty fragrance from the pack on his back.
"Hmm."
And Hiliard cooperated by revealing his abdominal wound, his voice somewhat weak, but not in immediate danger of life.
With silence, Ian treated the wound. First, he used Origin Quality to stop Hiliardâs bleeding, then pulled out the bone blade, promptly followed by applying the ointment to fill the bloody and blurred wound in the abdomenâthe wound was visibly healing slowly, and in a few hours, at least the external injuries could be mostly healed.
"Take your medicine."
Ian then picked up a small bottle of light red potion, a Regeneration Potion made from the Verdant Soil Leaf, which could accelerate bodily regeneration, and if injected directly into the bloodstream, it could also serve as a substitute for plasma.
Actually, coconut water could also substitute for plasma, but the Regeneration Potion was more effective.
Hiliard had not lost too much blood; he was merely weakened. After drinking the Regeneration Potion, he gradually regained his strength, enough at least to open his eyes and look at the boy in front of him, serious-faced, treating his wounds and administering his medicine.
"So, did you lose?"
Noticing his teacherâs gaze, Ian also spoke, as he began to take out a towel to dry the old manâs face and hair: "They say youâve been unwell recently; you should rest more."
"If I rest more, Iâll be even less able to beat him. Luckily, I chopped off one of his hands before so he couldnât run; otherwise, I wouldnât have been able to get away."
Stretching out his hand, Hiliard rubbed the boyâs hair with a bitter smile: "Iâm old after all, never thought Iâd really lose... sigh, heâs quite formidable, how did I never notice his talent back then?"
"If you had noticed, heâd be dead by now."
Unbothered by his hair being tousled by his teacher, Ian calmly pointed this out, and with a sigh, Hiliard changed the subject: "Is Elan taken care of?"
"Yeah, handed over to Elder Prude."
Ian said indifferently: "After all, the Legacy is on me, they wonât discover it."
Hiliard blinked, quickly grasping what Ian meant.
âYes, Weygesâ Spirit Energy could eavesdrop on sounds around the Marks, and since he had fought with him and was injured by his bone blade, he must have fallen into the trap.
"Nonsense!"
Therefore, the next moment he raised his voice: "I entrusted you with the Legacy because I hoped it wouldnât fall into othersâ hands! You should have given the treasure to Elan, then sent him away from Harrison Portâwhy are you carrying it on your person!"
"How could I abandon my teacher?"
With a slight smile, Ian remained silent.
"I would be happier if you hadnât come," Hiliard also fell silent.
They continued in this half-serious, half-joking atmosphere to say things that would confuse Weyges, performing the full act.
"What exactly is going on?"
After the act, Ian asked, quite puzzled.
By this time, Hiliardâs condition had stabilized quite a bit, but due to a lack of Origin Quality and physical strength, he was unable to move, so he asked his teacher about the cause of everything: "You said Weyges came for the truth behind the Dark Moon rebellion... what exactly is that truth?"
"I myself have been unable to understand it to this day; I can only narrate to you what I saw and heard back then."
After a moment of silence, the old man turned his head to glance at the boy, his eyes filled with complexity as he spoke: "Just as you surmised before, I was a Knight to the Former Emperor Yinaiga II."
"And the Dark Moon rebellion was led by the Crown Prince Anpid, a group of rebels who conspired to assassinate His Majesty."