Chapter 4 - Introductions

Debris flew everywhere, the same with the wood scraps which filled the floor. The room which looked extremely luxurious now turned into a wasteland. The expensive objects and ornaments were all broken into small bits, as it demonstrated just how chaotic the situation had been.

Sounds of hurried footsteps resounded across the perimeter, as the two figures that can be seen within the room turned their heads on the sound's direction out of curiosity. The two figures were apart from each other for about 2-3 meters. They were the peerless beauty, Xia Qingyue, and the indifferent and stoic looking Shiba Tatsuya.

Finally, an anxious looking figure emerged from the direction where they both looked. It was a man garbed with an obviously expensive looking clothes and cloak. The man who suddenly emerged, looked around the room with a helpless expression. He was Xia Hongyi, the clan head of the Xia Clan.

He then noticed the familiar yet new figure appear within his line of sight, as the middle-aged man slowly turned his gaze at the tall yet slender youth standing across Xia Qingyue. His eyes rippled in surprise, as he deeply sighed.

Xia Hongyi now deduced what happened, as he was able to piece everything together into a single picture that depicted the happenings before he came here. He stared at Xia Qingyue with a wry smile.

"So, what happened here, Qing'er?"

"I…"

"I see, so you attacked our guest for some unknown reason and almost destroyed the entire proximity. Am I right, Qing'er?"

"I…"

Xia Hongyi stared at his fidgeting daughter, as he helplessly shook his head. The daughter looked guilty, as her sword still hung within her left hand. The aura she emanated told Xia Hongyi everything, as the father felt helpless. He knew just how bad her daughter's temper can be, especially if it involves their family.

"I'm sorry, father. But I just can't trust this man! He suddenly woke up and just jeered at me."

"Pardon my intrusion, but I did not jeered at you."

"You dare even spout lies…"

"Err…"

Xia Qingyue glared coldly at the slender-looking Tatsuya, as the latter felt awkward as to what reply towards her statement. Although he felt awkward, such emotions didn't appeared within his face, as it maintained its stoic expression. He looked indifferent and calm from the eyes of Xia Hongyi.

"Aiya, why are you so lively when you're at home Qing'er? When in the outside, you're always wearing your cold mask that emanated isolation and indifference…"

"That's different father! Sigh, I can't do this anymore. I'll leave for now father, I really am sorry for the troubles I have brought you."

"As long as it's my Qing'er, haha."

"But, you- I want you to behave yourself in our home or else… I promise that I'll cut off your head!"

Xia Qingyue humped her voice, as she prepared to leave from the destroyed room. Her father, Xia Hongyi waved his sturdy hand at her daughter's back, as he watched her leave. Meanwhile, Tatsuya's line of thought deviated. What head was she talking about, Tatsuya thought inwardly.

"So…"

"Pardon my blasphemy. Thank you very much for helping me, benefactor. I still haven't introduced myself, so I will. My name is Shiba Tatsuya, and I'm very grateful for what you've done for me…"

Tatsuya slight bowed towards the middle-aged man Xia Hongyi, as the latter nodded his head. Xia Hongyi felt impressed, as he thought that Tatsuya knew the basic etiquette. Furthermore, he noticed the fearlessness within Tatsuya's gaze, as he deduced that this youth that was standing before him is not an ordinary individual.

"Welcome. It's not that much of a big deal helping you. My daughter and son found you lying in the middle of the forest while unconscious. So, of course we'll lend someone who needs help, a hand in such situations."

"I see…"

Cautiousness hid beneath Tatsuya's indifferent gaze, as he pretended to have accepted this middle-aged man's statement. He knew that a person who can groom such a powerful daughter that almost had slit his throat to be not an ordinary man.

Tatsuya has been always a cautious individual. Now that he got thrown into some kind of place he wasn't familiar with, that cautiousness even amplified. He decided to gather more information and he'll immediately leave this place. He knew how dangerous can this situation be if he stayed inside this unknown house that reeked of mysteriousness and danger.

"If I may ask, why were you lying within the crater of the forest. Just looking at the crater, it seems that only people stronger than me can create such gigantic crater that almost swallowed an entire piece of land…"

(It's here, I wished that he won't ask me such questions. But, even I am clueless at the moment. Furthermore, this man is testing me for sure. That gaze carried an innumerable experience in scrutinizing people. He will know if I lied to him or not. Thankfully, I don't need to lie.)

"I'm clueless as well. I'm also unaware of such reasons why I was lying there. What do I call you benefactor?"

"I see, so you don't know anything, huh. Anyways, this one's name is Xia Hongyi and that's my daughter named Xia Qingyue. Speaking of the devil, that's my son, Xia Yuanba."

Xia Hongyi heard the footsteps behind him, as he immediately knew that it was his one and only son, Xia Yuanba. He immediately introduced the little guy to Tatsuya, as he knew that hiding their identities would only make the situation more complicated.

Xia Yuanba was running towards Xia Hongyi with worried and anxious look. However, upon switching his gaze from his father into the youth before his father, he abruptly halted his steps. He stared at the young man with eyes that emanated curiosity and a little bit trace of wariness.

"Oh, Yuanba. Our guest had just woke up from his sleep."

"Hello, Yuanba. I'm Shiba Tatsuya, thank you for taking care of me."

Tatsuya slight bowed towards Xia Yuanba out of gratefulness. The latter shook his hands in a fl.u.s.tered way, as he then awkward scratched his head. It seemed that he felt a little bit shy facing this new guy which was Tatsuya.

"Likewise, I'm Xia Yuanba. Err, I'm sorry for my big sister's attempt to kill you. I really am sorry."

"Well, past is past…"

"Believe me, my big sister is really lovable and is really kind. Please don't let your first initial exchange be your final impression of her."

(Haha, someone who would suddenly attack a guy who just woke up from his sleep can't be normal. Furthermore, she seemed pretty serious in killing me. Did I do something wrong when I was unconscious or something?)

Tatsuya smiled and tried to stop Xia Yuanba's relentless chatter. Xia Hongyi looked at his son with a wry expression, as he nodded his head at Tatsuya, indicating that he will leave now. Tatsuya nodded back, as he expressed his gratefulness once again through his eyes.

"Can I call you big brother Tatsuya?"

"Yeah, that will do."

"Then, big brother Tatsuya, where did you come from? Why do you possess such magical eyes-"

The moment Xia Yuanba mentioned the 'magical eyes' part, the temperature around the place seemed to have drop considerably. However, the little guy, Xia Yuanba seemed to not have detected the changes in his surroundings, as he just stared at Tatsuya with curious eyes.

(Well, he seemed to have saw my Elemental Sight at work. It seemed that my ability, Regrowth, did something unpredictable yet again. Not only have I maintained my life, even my emotions that was previously taken away from me, now exists. I've thought about it but Regrowth can really restore even my Quintessence, huh.)

(However, even if it can indeed restore my Quintessence or in other words, my soul, my Elemental Sight shouldn't have been able to connect to the Quintessence Dimension. That dimension only existed in my latest theory, and something that had never been accessed by anyone.)

(There's no thinking about it now. As for Miyuki… No- I shouldn't think about this anymore or else… I'll get depressed and will raise suspicions from these extraordinary people. I need to be careful and be fast enough to get out of this place…)

"Well, I have no idea about the magical eyes. I'm only an ordinary human, Yuanba. As for my hometown, I came from the country of Japan."

"Japan? It's the first time I've heard of that place."

"Well, it's only a small country, I guess. But, it's far, really really far."

Thus, Tatsuya and Xia Yuanba began their conversation of everlasting question and answer question. Tatsuya shook his head out of helplessness, as he complained inwardly about his current situation. Xia Yuanba relentlessly asked everything he could ask, as Tatsuya would answer everything the best he can answer it.

While, they were talking, there was an ice-cold gaze hiding far from them, watching every moves that Tatsuya made. She was the goddess with peerless talent, Xia Qingyue. The beauty gritted her teeth, as she coldly watched the two young man converse, with the little one being happy, and the other one being helpless…