Chapter 90 - The Conclusion

Chapter 90 - The Conclusion

In the dense forest, a scarred, muscular leg wearing rotting boots stomped heavily into the mud.

Cassius darted through the forest, utterly exhausted. His expression was dazed as pain coursed through his body. He could hear his bones groaning under his muscles. With every step, his wounds burned as if they were being torn open. The pain was sharpest in his left arm which dangled uselessly from a scrap bit of flesh. Now, he looked just like his senior brother, Hykal.

Sometime during their recent tussle, a cloaked figure had clawed into his muscles. Perhaps pieces of it had fallen into a puddle, soaking until it disintegrated. Or perhaps those monsters had eaten them. Either way, Cassius didn't care; they had been extremely lucky to even break out of the encirclement. Unlike Li Wei, Cassius had fought his way out alive, and his numerous scars was a testament to his efforts.

"Let's run a bit further! Get far enough away so we can rest and recover some of our strength, then..." Cassius gritted his teeth. He soon realized something was wrong—he hadn't heard Lisa cough for a very long time.

He rushed over to a large tree and gently set Lisa down with one hand. His shoulder trembled as soon as he touched her back. He could see Lisa's closed eyes and pale face in the dim light. She looked more dead than alive.

Using his body to shield her from the rain, Cassius placed his fingers under her nose. Thankfully, Lisa was still breathing, albeit faintly.

He took a deep breath before looking at Lisa's back. Three claw marks ran down her back, skin was completely decimated. Even the blood from her wounds had turned pale. To make matters worse, her left side was severely wounded; he could see the white bone beneath the red muscle.

"Li... Li Wei..." someone croaked.

"Here, Teacher, I'm here!" Cassius fell down on one knee, breathing hard.

Boom!

Lightning rent the misty sky. The rain and wind from the fierce storm pounded everything below, shrouding the land in a transparent haze. In that brief flash of light, Cassius saw Lisa's unnaturally pale face. Her dark eyes were piercing as she stared at him.

"Teacher, I'll take you back to Beiliu City to find a doctor now! If I go as fast as possible, I should still..."

"No, cough, cough, I... I know my injuries. You already know this: every pugilist has the ability to gauge the condition of their body. Don't do anything risky." In between her gasps for air, Lisa coughed. She was breathing laboriously, like an old bellows.

"..." Cassius was silent like he had turned into a statue. The rain continued pouring down, soaking his bare upper body.

"Thank you." The child happily skipped away.

"You've changed a lot, Li Wei." The woman smiled despite her wan face. Li Wei had once been a reticient student, but he had become more outgoing as of late. Perhaps losing an arm had been the catalyst.

"People change all the time, Teacher." Cassius took another piece of candy from his pocket and popped it into his mouth. It tasted sweet. Not bad.

Three months ago, on that rainy night, everyone in the Wind Elephant Sect had been wiped out. All except Cassius and Lisa.

That's right, Lisa didn't die! At the time, Lisa had been certain she was as good as dead, and Cassius likewise believed that she had been too severely injured. But to everyone's surprise, she had clung on!

Cassius had sprinted to the Beiliu City hospital at breakneck speed, nearly collapsing when he arrived. The doctors did everything in their power during surgery, and had been close to declaring it a failure, but perhaps fate had given Lisa another chance. Although she was in a coma for three days, she had survived!

Three days later, when teacher and student met, Lisa was a bit bewildered. She had uttered her final words, and yet here she was. Still alive.

Afterward, she went through nearly a month of treatment. During that time, the cloaked figures never showed up, seemingly having forgotten about Cassius and Lisa. However, Lisa still worried so, two months ago, she choked down the pain and came to East Sea County with Cassius.

Cassius used his real name "Cassius" to admit Lisa to the sanatorium, and they spent two extremely peaceful months there. Lisa sat in her wheelchair by the fountain, scooping up some cool water with her hand. Cassius stood beside her like a tree.

Out of the blue, he blurted out, "Teacher, I'm going to start practicing Covert Martial Arts again tomorrow."

"Good!" Lisa nodded emphatically. "But promise me that you won't investigate those monsters for at least five years."

"Of course."

Cassius squinted. He wouldn't do anything during this time-travel this time around. He'd suppress his hatred for now. When it comes time to activate the third time-travel node, that would be the time for him to take revenge.

He hoped the double enhancement from the Shadow Demon wouldn't disappoint him. What was going to happen if his mastery of the Wind Elephant Fist in its second stage doubled?