Chapter 23 - The Black Cloud

Re'Kha placed her hand on her face, feeling the two empty spaces of where her eyes used to exist. She felt anger, helplessness at her loss, and desire to reclaim her eyes from the one that stole them. After all, the cause of her blindness was a Sha that had stolen her eyes. The Blinded Ghost!

That was the name it was commonly referred to as. Re'Kha had been pursuing that Sha for over a year now, unable to kill it. Every time she encountered it, the Blinded Ghost turned out to be stronger than the previous time.

And, it was spotted in numerous places, whether it be a city or a settlement. Its shell seemed to be a mobile object, allowing it to roam around numerous territories.

"A Sha cannot be far away from its shell. Otherwise, it would die. But, the stronger the Sha, the greater its range of operation around its shell." Re'Kha opened the door, crouched low as she inserted her finger into the thin layer of water on the floor, activating her Water Qi perception.

She noticed the cloth banner remain in the same place it fell, facing the falling rain continuously. The Water Qi in the rain had completely annihilated the Fear Qi in it by now. But, Re'Kha knew that the Sha wasn't dead yet.

The only way to kill it would be to destroy its shell completely, in this case, the cloth banner, and prevent it from ever being able to gather Fear Qi. Fire Qi and Lightning Qi were the most effective against the Sha.

Water Qi was relatively less effective, but it was still enough to kill a Sha. The reason Re'Kha didn't try to rip the cloth banner into shreds was that it contained a clue to the Withered Courtyard. She didn't have any methods to investigate it further, but that didn't mean her Clan didn't.

But, to return to her Clan safe and sound, in conditions of danger would be difficult unless she recovered all her Qi. Re'Kha closed the door and activated her Wind Qi perception, heading to the bathroom to refresh herself.

"The cloth banner moved from outside the bathroom towards me because it was attracted to the fear I was feeling," Re'Kha murmured, grabbing the towel as entered the bathroom. She filled the water tub with hot water, adjusted its temperature with the cold water before feeling that it was perfect.

The Shell of a Sha couldn't move naturally, because it was an inanimate object. But there were times where it would be attracted towards a source of fear. As to the cause of it, Re'Kha was unsure. Because there existed all types of Sha, and not everything created a spiritual form to spread fear.

Finished with her bath, Re'Kha wore a loose gown as she headed towards the kitchen, fumbling around as she prepared herself a messy meal. The sounds of the rain resounded unabated as she sat on the dining table and ate her meal.

The food entered her stomach, nourishing her body. Re'Kha could feel some strength in her hands as she clenched them into a fist, feeling a bit better now. Done with her eating, she headed into the armoury, looking around at the weapons after activating her Wind Qi perception.

There were only five weapons in the room: a sword, a sabre, a pair of knives, and a whip. The whip seemed damaged; she noticed some loose strands along its length through her perception. She grabbed hold of it, seeing that it weighed lighter than usual.

She felt around it, judging that the whip had gone through a battle and lost a significant portion of its material makeup. It was probably stored because the owner was emotionally attached to it and didn't wish to discard it. Re'Kha grabbed the pair of knives, feeling that they were heavier than the whip. Sᴇaʀᴄh the ɴovᴇlꜰirᴇ.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

She grabbed the sword and felt mild difficulty in wielding it using her injured body. Finally, she grabbed the sabre, feeling that it was lighter than the knife. But, its blade only spanned the length from her finger to her elbow. Moreover, the material didn't seem like one of high quality, so she was unsure about using it.

"Better to use a wieldable blade than a powerful but unwieldable one." Re'Kha closed the armoury, holding the sabre and the whip. Their quality wasn't to her satisfaction but they were the only ones the current her could use. Besides, she didn't plan on making a move until she healed to a desirable extent.

She was in the Burkurel Ju Clan's Western Settlement. It was known territory from this point onwards. She knew the path towards her city—the Burkurel City—and the landmarks that would appear along the way.

Still, it was a day's journey on foot. It was faster on horseback but there wasn't any in the settlement. The evacuating populace brought out every abled horse during their escape. And, the horses that were left behind were the injured or ill ones. They died under the animals and beasts that breached the settlement.

So, she had to first prepare for her journey. Re'Kha was just about to head to the room with the herbs when she spread her Wind Qi perception beyond the confines of the house she was in. She noticed that the rain had stopped.

Screech!

The sound was like a tide that washed over her, causing her to tremble in fear. At the far end of her perception, she noticed a blackened-out cloud approaching rapidly. The moment she perceived it, she felt it perceive her in return, making her shudder in fright.

Re'Kha sprang towards the entrance, opened the door, made a jump and grabbed hold of the cloth banner. Without hesitation, she entered the house and slammed the door shut. She threw the cloth banner in the centre of the hall and grabbed hold of the sofa, pushing it against the entrance.

She sealed the entrance and the windows with anything she found, trying her best to seal them as tightly as she could. She then scrambled through a cupboard, found a shoulder bag, headed to the room with the herbs, and threw in everything of value.

She placed the contents in the kitchen, ran upstairs, grabbed a bedsheet, a mattress, a pillow, and lots of blankets. Her expression was one of a hurry, her limbs trembling more and more as she sensed the blackened-out cloud approach the settlement closer and closer.