Chapter 179 Shadows in the Dark

"Demon Lord?"

It was a tale that Xiao Chen had heard of since entering the Violet Manor; legend has it that the battle between Immortals and Devils thousands of years ago had seen the Demon Lord released a terrible surge of power so vast that the entire domain of Demons collapsed. Was this the same Demon Lord that the old man was referring to?

"Yes! The invincible Demon Lord who stormed and wreaked havoc in the Heavens and the Underworld. What an impressive feat! It took the combined strength of the Lord Buddha and both Emperors of the Heavens and Nether to subdue and seal him."

Xiao Chen made no response. He was not interested in old fairy tales and legends. He tugged at Murong Xian'er's hand to leave, but she was deeply fascinated with the story and urged the old man to tell her more.

Another young man came over. Xiao Chen eyed him warily, wondering if he was equally enthralled by the old man's story or Xian'er's beauty. "The Demon Lord had attained Buddhahood then. But the news of the massacre of his subjects in his domain by the Heavenly Hosts infuriated him so greatly that he returned to his domain and waged war against the Heavenly Emperor..."

"Wow! Is he really so strong?!" Murong Xian'er uttered with amazement, captivated by the tale.

Xiao Chen groaned. Why was Xian'er so interested in these stories? "All right, Xian'er," he said to her, "That's enough. We should not be keeping the good old man away from his business."

Xiao Chen dragged her off with him and they continued sightseeing until the hour grew late. Murong Xian'er was still filled with fiery vim as she raved and ranted for them to go on. They passed by a street hawker selling dumplings. Being a practitioner of arcane magic, Xiao Chen no longer needed regular sustenance of food daily. But Murong Xian'er had been having so much fun; she had not eaten the whole day. "Xian'er, are you hungry?" Xiao Chen asked.

"Nope!" Murong Xian'er replied, giggling brightly, "I don't need food actually."

Xian Chen had long understood that Xian'er was not ordinary. But what was she actually and where did she come from? They continued strolling until Xian'er suddenly exclaimed, "My legs are sore, Big Brother! Carry me on your back!"

Xiao Chen emitted another groaning smile and lifted her on his back. They returned to their room in the inn. But Xiao Chen's senses alerted him that someone had entered their room during their absence. "Xian'er?" He called her gently, but there was no answer. She must already have been tired, he mused. He placed her gently on her bed. He projected his spiritual senses and immediately found something stirring in the corner of the room. It was a mark that could only be left with the magic of a Cultivator.

Someone has found us, he thought quietly. All of a sudden, Murong Xian'er called to him, "What is wrong, Big Brother?"

Xiao Chen immediately turned and walked to her, smiling tenderly to her. "Everything's fine, dear sister," he cooed gently to her, "You're tired. Have some rest." And he put on a blanket for her.

"All right, good night, Big Brother."

The room was furnished with two beds. Xiao Chen moved to his bed. He resisted the urge to erase the magical mark, opting to wait and observe if their pursuers have any more tricks up their sleeves.

For the entire night, he waited until the wee hours of the morning, where he heard furtive whispers coming from the roof. He projected his Divine Sense again and found two strangers, both clad in black garb, watching them. One of them muttered softly, "Is this the place?" They were hardly powerful foes, Xiao Chen realized, possessing only powers of the Foundation Building Realm.

"The spotter has left his mark here. There is no mistaking it," said another as he slowly pried open one of the tiles from the roof.

"Heh heh heh! Look! He's sleeping like log! It's good! I'll go down now and end him!"

"Wait! Don't be brash! It's better to first wait for the Elders and take him down together."

"You are afraid of him? He does not seem as strong as the rumors go! He did not even notice the mark left by the spotter!"

"No! We must not alert him to our presence! Go now! At once!"

The aura of the two strangers slowly diminished as they slipped away. Xiao Chen grinned to himself. The strangers were merely vermin to him. Yet they, having failed to fully comprehend his strength, were so close to foolishly take things into their own hands. It was only because Xiao Chen did not want to rouse Xian'er from her peaceful slumber that he spared the two strangers. Nevertheless, he was also interested to know the identities of the party that pursued him.

At dawn, Xiao Chen requested for a basin of hot water from the management of the inn. Murong Xian'er woke up that morning with bleary eyes, apparently still exhausted. "What's wrong? A bad night?"

"I just had a bad dream," she muttered sleepily.

Xiao Chen smiled. He wet a clean towel with warm water and wiped her face. "It's okay. It's just a dream," he said softly to her. But Murong Xian'er shook her head. "No. The dream was so real to me," she said, "There were a beautiful lady, half-woman and half-snake, and an old man who was carrying a basket of herbs with another person that looked like a deity with a zither... They were trying to catch me..."

She stopped and broke into tears, throwing herself into Xiao Chen's arms. "But I don't want to go back, I don't want to leave you, Big Brother..."

Even to this day, Xiao Chen could not understand why she was so attached to him. He patted her lightly on her back. "Everything's okay. It's all okay," he spoke softly to her, "Big Brother will never let anyone take you away."

They cleaned themselves and went downstairs for breakfast. Xiao Chen instructed one of the waiters to get him a large map which he then pored over in great detail. The journey to the Middle Continent on horses would take at least half a month.

He held the map in his hands, and noticed something: the five continents together, and the shapes of the terrain and rivers, seemed to form a pattern that resembled a magical circle not only ancient, but also forbidden in his time thousands of years ago. Murong Xian'er joined him, curiously looking at the map. "That is a magical formation, Big Brother," she remarked happily.

The casual remark caught Xiao Chen off guard. Xian'er could see that it was a magical formation with only one glance, he gasped with shock. But there was nothing to be surprised of. Ever since they met, Xian'er had repeatedly displayed her superior aptitude in the knowledge of magical formations. But was it true that the five continents really form a magical formation? Was there even such an entity so powerful that he could freely move mountains and continents to his will?

"Xian'er," he asked, "Can you tell me what magical formation is this?"

"Urm..." Murong Xian'er raked through her mind for a few minutes, only to shake her head in the end. "I don't know," she said, before giving a silly giggle, "Where are we going to play today, Big Brother?"

Xiao Chen furled the map and put it away. "You rascal," he chided with a smile. He noticed that she had not eaten any food from the table, save for a few mandarin oranges. "You ate so little," he said, "Won't you be hungry later?"

"But I'm not hungry!"

Xiao Chen merely nodded. He called for the bill and paid before they went out, with Xian'er still energetic and cheerful as before as if the morning episode about her bad dream had never taken place. Many middle-aged women were charmed by her pretty and endearing demeanor that some even exclaimed, "Look at the girl! She's just so adorable!"

Some even wanted to hug her, although they quickly had second thoughts when they noticed a slightly-annoyed Xiao Chen just behind her. "Who is this?" Some of the ladies asked Xian'er, gesturing towards Xiao Chen.

"He's my Big Brother!" She would reply with glee, and everyone nodded to Xiao Chen gently, smiling to him out of respect.

But Xiao Chen was scowling to himself behind, did he looked so much like a kidnapper?