Chapter 493

Chapter 493

In an obsidian blur of motion, Blackjack soars through the air in complete and utter silence, diving down from above like the aerial predator that he is. His prey caught firmly between his teeth, his front paws cling tight while his back legs flutter in disembowelling kicks, scratching and scraping until his legs grow tired and jaw sore. Coming to his feet, the tiny hare raises his head high with pride as he drags the corpse of his defeated foe back for inspection, tripping over its body which is twice as long as he. Unable to jump onto my lap while carrying his prize, he butts his head against my shin and thumps his feet to demand my attention, so I scoop him up along with his prey.

Whos a dangerous apex predator? I croon, scratching his head so hell close his eyes and let go of his hard-fought kill, a knotted, triangular bundle which was once a face cloth but is now his new favourite toy. You are. Yea, you. So cute. Rewarding him with a kiss and a sliver of smoked meat, I stroke his cheeks while he stuffs his face and try not to giggle too much on account of the guests sitting around me. While Lin doesnt judge me for my love of floofs and is busy cuddling Mama Bun, its the people on my left who worry me. Fung likes to poke fun from time to time, and the two ladies on the other side of him are veritable strangers I dont feel comfortable around just yet. Ryo Seoyoon is as icy as ever, her cold glares utterly ineffective after years of weathering Milas, but its the older Ryo sister who scares me most.

At first glance, Ryo Dain appears both lovely and demure, a matured, blossomed beauty with a slender, sensuous body and a sultry, self-assured smile which says she doesnt need no man, but is on the prowl for one regardless. Perky and pleasant though her personality might be, theres something about Dain which I find... off-putting, though I cant quite describe what it is. It could be her predatory stare which coldly appraises each individual fighting on the various stages, or how her lips purse ever so slightly while studying my Death Corps guards as if categorizing them by skill, strength, and level of threat. Mostly what bothers me is the cold and calculating way she looks at me and my pets, assessing us not only for threat, but also possible value as a hostage or bargaining chip.

Where Seoyoon is outwardly impassive and inwardly an emotional firebrand, Dain is warm and bubbly while simultaneously a ruthless, bloodthirsty battle-maniac. If she were faking the first part of her personality, then shed be like most other nobles Ive met, but Dain seems genuinely friendly and sociable now that shes no longer treating me like a prize to be won. Her callous, cold-blooded nature is simply another facet of her true self which in no way clashes with the rest of her bright and chipper personality, a disparity which I cannot for the life of me figure out. How can she smile and pet Aurie while checking for his blind-spot, or shake hands with Lin while mentally measuring my sweet wifeys reach in case they should ever cross blades, all without meaning offence? Cordial, but pragmatic, perhaps even to a fault, everything she does is subtly or not-so-subtly laced with killing intent, and I have yet to puzzle out if this is simply her nature or an intended threat.

That said, Id bet my dwindling fortune that this analytical mindset is why Ryo Dain is still unmarried at twenty-nine years of age. Well, that, and the fact that she is a monster in disguise. Ive never seen anyone who wasnt a Peak Expert defeat Mila so handily, as even Gerel and Tursinai are wary of the fiery redheads counterattacks, but Dain dove right in without a care. Some might think her actions rash or ignorant, but Im guessing she knows exactly how hard Mila can hit and is confident of dealing with her prodigious strength should the need arise. It didnt, since my beloved betrothed barely had room to breathe much less retaliate, and the match only lasted as long as it did because Dain was having fun, like a well-fed cat playing with a caught mouse just to slake her murderous urges.

Normally, Id overlook all of this on account of her being Yans friend, but they havent been friends for long. They met a few times before, but it wasnt until Nan Ping when they really hit it off, which is coincidentally also after I earned my title as Number One Talent in the Empire. The whole thing reeks of a deliberately designed friendship with ulterior motives in mind, and normally Id just warn Yan and watch Dain carefully, but with the situation as volatile as it is, Id much rather not have a near Peak Expert with uncertain loyalties moving freely around my defenceless loved ones. Problem is, as Yan and Du Min Gyus guest and sister to Fungs current obsession, I have no idea how to diplomatically get rid of this lovely, but thorny rose.

Noticing my attentions, Dain bites her lower lip and flutters her lashes ever so subtly, Sending, Naughty boy, save those hungry stares for your many lady loves, lest I lose all reason and can no longer restrain myself.

As the blood rushes away from my brain to what my body deems are more important organs, it doesnt escape notice that Dains statement could be taken in one of two ways, but maybe Im overthinking things. Then again, maybe not, and considering Lin and all my vulnerable floofs are between her and my Death Corps guards, Id rather not antagonize the viperish beauty. My apologies for the rude stare, I say, without looking away, because predators tend to see that as a sign of weakness. My jealousy got the better of me as I studied a would-be rival.

Youre jealous of me? Flutter-flutter goes the eye-lashes and thump-thump goes my beating heart, so enraptured by her half-lidded eyes and piercing gaze. I dont know what rumours youve heard, but while Im not above a sordid fling with my female friends, I most definitely prefer the company of men.Read latest chapters at novelhall.com Only

...Why am I so attracted to dangerous women?

Unable to hold eye contact any longer, I look down at Blackjack instead, the sweet hare finished with his treat and ready to play again. Tossing the knotted cloth for him to chase, I gesture towards Mila and say, No, I meant Im jealous about her. Standing alone in the corner, my freckled beloved practices her favoured combination of Tigers Killing Lunge and Wolfs Rending Fang, performing the same attack again and again to try and understand the secrets contained within the movements. I used to practise like that too, focusing on one movement or combination of movements at a time, but she always said I was being stupid and should just seek Insight in the Forms. Its been years and I have yet to change her mind, but all it took was a few words from you to accomplish what I couldnt.

That said, Mila does look pretty silly repeating the same movement over and over again, which is what I suppose I looked like whenever I practised...

Ah, then Dain offers her most heartfelt apologies. Her coy smile and playful tone fail to hide her surprise, and she pauses to think before continuing. So you also sought to master the Forms. Most Warriors study and seek Insight within them, but few care to do more than scratch the surface and prefer to focus their attentions on mastering Chi skills. Did you have a specific reason for doing so?

Nudging Fung so hell stop Sending sweet nothings to Seoyoon and listen, I reply, The way I see it, Insight is nice, but comprehension is better. You have no control over when Insight will strike, so its better to work towards a tangible goal rather than mindlessly demonstrating the Forms and waiting for meat pies to fall from the sky.

In my experience, Core Creation was hardly a difficult task, so I simply dont understand how the overwhelming majority of people fail at it. This is without taking into account that the entire Defiled population easily reaches Core Creation, or at least their version of it, and even accounting for the fact that those who fail are killed and eaten, it doesnt explain the significant disparity in success rates. Even if ninety percent of Defiled children die before Core Creation, which is an absurd, unsustainable number that wouldve seen the Defiled go extinct long ago, this would still mean their chances of success in Core Creation are ten times higher than the Empiress, and thats a conservative estimate. It could be as high as fifty percent, and whats more, the Defiled rate of improvement in the early stages is significantly faster than most Imperial Martial Warriors, while their ratio of Aura users to non-Aura users is also considerably higher. For every hundred Defiled, there is usually one Aura-capable individual, while amongst Imperials, that number is closer to one in a thousand. The only measurements in which the Defiled are inferior is in the number of Peak Experts and total population, but the former doesnt matter because Demons make up for the lack of Peak Experts while the latter matters even less since the total Defiled population easily outnumbers one percent of the Imperial population, which are the important numbers to look at when talking about warfare.

Interestingly enough, even though Yo Lings Butchers were all Defiled, the ratio of Aura users in his army was closer to Imperial standards rather than Defiled ones, which means his people were lacking a certain quality that true Defiled share. Its always good to pay attention to the discrepancies, because once you figure out the reason why things are different, then you have a better idea as to how things work. Take wine and vinegar for example, two distinct liquids which are made through fermentation, yet are different in taste, texture, and a myriad of other ways. The difference? One contains alcohol, and the other doesnt. Its a little more complicated than that, but knowing the how allows you to easily control what comes out of your barrels.

Which means if I can look at the Defiled and figure out how they go from basic human to full out Defiled, then maybe I can apply that to Martial Warriors and streamline the whole process from pleb to Peak Expert.

This is a subject Ive been sort of obsessed with since shattering my Core. If I cant repair what Ive got, why not make a new one? A far stretch since Id have to get rid of my broken Core first, but even if this isnt possible and I remain crippled for the rest of my life, if I can pioneer a simple method of training Martial Warriors and increase that one percent to ten percent, then maybe well have a chance of defeating the Defiled on open ground and people will stop with the pitying stares. Those are harder to deal with than snide or hurtful remarks, and there will be plenty to go around later on during Du Min Gyus welcome banquet. Mom and Dad decided to use tonight's events as a litmus test of Bekhai support and invited anyone whos anyone to join the festivities and show that we are not a third-rate power to be trifled with.

Fun, fun, fun. No party is complete without a show of force.

Regardless, the idea of a streamlined Martial Path is already halfway done thanks to Dastan and BoShui revealing their whole Natal Soul shtick, which covers the latter two Milestones along the Martial Path in general detail. Create a Natal Soul (preferably without a personality of its own), park him or her in the Natal Palace, merge with said Natal Soul, and then Develop your Domain. Cant get any more basic than that, and while theres still some testing to be done, this leaves only Core Creation and Aura Condensation to simplify. The Defiled seem a better place to look for answers regarding those two milestones, so all I have to do is take the best of both Imperial and Defiled practises and put them together in a way that doesnt create murder-happy rage maniacs.

Easy peasy, right?

Unfortunately, without Defiled children to observe or really any idea how to move forward, Im stuck at an impasse, or I was until I remembered someone else tried to do the same thing around eight-hundred years ago, an Imperial Scion, scholar, and monster in human skin by the name of Zhen Shi. While it might seem crazy, desperate, and downright stupid to take notes from a man named True Corpse, who by all accounts was a psychotic butcher who tortured people until they turned into Demons for science, he was also known to keep meticulous records of his so-called experiments, which means his notes may hold the key information I need to move forward or even complete my methodology.

While anyone whos ever heard the story knows his research documents exist, not many have a copy to call their own. Its not illegal or forbidden to read through, but macabre fascination with anything Defiled is not only frowned upon, but generally grounds for suspicion, and suspicion tends to lead to unpleasant things, like death by torture and nine familial extermination. I couldnt really go around asking if I can borrow Zhen Shis notes, and since I probably wouldve remembered reading something like a torture journal while perusing through Taduks library, it means he either doesnt have a copy or keeps it safely hidden away, but luckily, my instincts were on point, and the first trustworthy person I asked indeed had a copy and was happy to lend it out.

Fungs manservant/torturer is one scary S.O.B, but say one thing about Fu Zhu Li, he works quick. Since I didnt want anyone to overhear, I passed him a written note and watched him toss it into the fire without so much as batting an eye, and the next morning, Red Two (who was formerly Red One until Kuang Biao took his place as top dog) handed me eighteen volumes of Zhen Shis notes, neatly wrapped and titled Traffic logs for Shen Huos twelfth district followed by a bunch of nonsensical dates which are too convoluted to figure out. No idea why anyone would carry these volumes around while touring another province, but I didnt ask and Fu Zhu Li didnt say, so Im going to leave it at that.

I only had time for a brief look through the volumes this morning, but from what Ive seen, Zhen Shis notes are laid out rather well. Age, gender, physical measurements, appearance, torture methods, and results are merely the tip of the iceberg as he goes into great detail regarding his process and procedure, though he leaves out any and all speculation or definitive conclusions. Its horrific, stomach turning stuff, but with luck, itll be worth the effort and I wont damn myself and the Bekhai simply by having them in my possession.

Had I known a Justicar would come calling today, I probably wouldnt have brought the matter up. I should probably ask Fu Zhu Li to take the books back and hide them somewhere safe, but even though the notes detail grisly and gruesome events, the information should not be condemned for this. Data is data, and while the methods of collection were undoubtedly immoral, the information itself isnt inherently evil. Worst comes to worst, Ill just say I found it on Yo Lings island and kept it for shits and giggles, but I cant afford to give up on such a promising lead. Before the new year, I was happy to take things slow and recover at my own pace, but this is no longer an option. So long as I am weak, people like Yang Jixing will be circling the waters, waiting for an opportunity to strike. While my personal strength might not mean much in the grand scheme of things, if Im back in the spotlight, then itll lessen the pressure on the Bekhai and our allies as a whole.

Is what I tell myself, but honestly... I mostly want to be strong again. It wasnt so bad when I could barely keep my eyes open or think straight because of the drugs, but now that Im clear-headed and mostly pain-free, Im hungry for more. Human nature sucks, but I cant help it. I need to explore this avenue, or Ill never stop thinking about it, but Ill just have to hope for the best and plan for the worst. If no one knows about Zhen Shis notes in my possession, then if things go south, they can honestly swear they had nothing to do with it, and all thats lost is one crippled former talent.

No big deal, right?

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