Chapter 85: Return

Chapter 85: Return

Are you okay? Chance asked, approaching the girl sitting on the ground. She watched him with wide eyes, her knuckles white around the hilt of her huge sword. You didnt get injured, did you?

I no, she said, staring at Chance like hed sprouted a horn from his head. I am uninjured.

Thats good. Chance let out a relieved sigh. Id hate for anyone else to get hurt today.

The girl slowly rose to her feet without releasing her sword.

I dont think there are any other monsters. It was just this one, Chance said. His urumi flicked back around his wrist, returning to a bracelet. Its safe now.

What do you mean? she asked after a short pause.

Uh what?

You said youd hate if anyone else got hurt. Were any villagers injured? They said you were the only cultivator present.

Oh, Chance said. He sent a sad smile in Seleths direction. No. As far as Im aware, no people were hurt. I was talking about him.

The monster?

Yeah, Seleth. He was a decent guy, I think. I dont think he wanted to eat anyone.

The girl stared at him. He was here trying to attack the city. Are you insane?

Im not defending his actions, Chance said, raising his hands. I just think he got dealt a bad hand. I hope the universe is kind to him and something better is waiting for him.

Chance looked back at Seleth and clenched his hands. After a moment, he shook his head and cleared his throat.

Right. Youre all safe, right? Im going to head off if so.

Wait! You cant just leave like that.

Why not?

You uh arent you going to tell the village what happened?

I think they can see, Chance said with a small chuckle. And to be honest, I know theyre going to be really happy about this. I cant blame them, I guess. It just leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.

I dont understand you at all. The girls fingers twitched and she raised her sword slightly. Chance traced the motion, but she slid the blade into its sheathe. Im Jade.

That was weird. For a moment, it felt like she was about to attack me.

Im Chance. Nice to meet you.

So I heard, Jade said. You told the monster your name. Whyd you do that?

Because he seemed respectable, Chance replied. And there was always a possibility I could have talked him out of fighting. That would have been nice.

Jade laughed, but it faded away when she spotted the serious expression on his face. Youre not joking?

What?

Karmic debt, Chance explained. Theres none between us. I just made sure. No debts to pay.

Jade glanced from Chance to the gold coin in his hand. He followed her eyes, then held the coin out. Here. You can have this back.

I just gave it to you.

Well, I dont really need it, Chance admitted. I just thought you giving it to me might make you feel better. We really dont have any debt, though. Dont worry about it.

How does you saving my life not endebt me? And theres no way a coin could have possibly paid the price, Jade protested. At least let me seek you out in the future with proper payment.

Theres no need, Chance insisted. Just trust me on this. Maybe well run into each other again in the future, but Im not going to ask for any payment. Just try to do good by other people.

Jade pressed her lips together as emotion warred on her face. She shifted her stance from foot to foot. Chance watched her silently. Nearly a minute passed, but neither of them broke the silence. Finally, Jade inclined her head.

If you insist. And youre sure you wont let me pay you back?

If you really want to pay me back, then help someone in need of it, Chance replied. As long as weve increased the amount of good deeds in the world, then Im happy.

Jade opened her mouth, then closed it without saying anything else. She just gave Chance a small nod. Fine. Ill tell the village what happened and that you were the one to defeat Seleth. Ill also ask them to give him a burial.

Chance smiled. Thank you, Jade. Take care.

He reached into his pocket and snapped the token without pulling it out. Essence swirled around him, building up around in a copper swirl around his feet before swallowing him completely and ferrying him away to the Dancing Cloud sects city.

***

You had to retreat? the guard asked, giving Chance a knowing smile as he arrived. Good decision, kid. Its not worth your life.

No, Chance said, shaking his head. I defeated the monster. Could you have the pay sent to my account?

The guards eyes bulged. Youre kidding. Seriously? It was an emergency job, wasnt it? Did the village overestimate the monsters strength?

Chance gave him a small shrug. The pay was pretty bad, wasnt it?

I suppose it was. The guard rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled. Well, Ill be. Good job either way. Once we get confirmation that the job has been completed, Ill send the payment to your account as you request. Ive already got it since you used our teleporter.

Sounds good. Chance raised a hand in farewell and headed out of the guard post. He walked at a brisk pace, moving as quickly as he could without running as he made his way back toward Bella.

It was a minor miracle that hed managed to hold everything together this far. Chance was well aware that he was a terrible liar, but luckily it looked like Jade had been equally bad at reading him.

When hed opened his third eye, hed checked her Karmic threads. It felt like a slight breach of privacy, but with the Shikari hunting him, he didnt have the luxury to avoid it. Among them was Gibson.

Jade was a Shikari.

There was always a possibility that shed stumbled into him entirely on accident, but her reaction when theyd spoken had been telling. She knew who he was, at the very least. Her insistence on finding out where he lived could have very well been her trying to determine how to track him down.

Id love to believe shes realized that Im not who the Shikari are saying I am, but Im not about to bet my life on that. I need to find Bella and let her know what happened.