Chapter 553: Same Coin, different sides
“Hold up, before y’all suggest anything involving this girl, shouldn’t we wait until she’s conscious so she can have a say in the matter?,” Zhen Yue pointed out.
“That’s…a good point.”
Evidently, none of the other scions had thought about this point either, so when it was finally pointed out, they just nodded in agreement.
Zhen Yue couldn’t help but roll her eyes at her cousins.
Their hearts were in the right place, but their heads…not so much.
“Anyways, you guys think we should save the girl some of this stew? Think she’ll be able to eat it?”
“Actually, I think Gao Ren mentioned that he was going to make something for the girl off to the side,” Zhen Liu answered, “mentioning something that he needed to make something rich in iron for her.”
“Ah…neat.”
With the issue pertaining to the slave girl’s aftercare no longer being in their hands, the Zhen Clan scions took that bit of news as the moment to relax.
This day had been crazy, this evening had been eventful and now they could finally just enjoy late supper and call it a night…hopefully.
‘Huh…now that my adrenaline is wearing off…I wonder what waylaid my kaijin earlier?,’ Zhen Liu thought to himself.
‘…eh! I’ll ask them later. They need to rest too…I think…mentally at least, I still have no idea if they have to worry about stamina and shit.’
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Meanwhile, as Zhen Liu was enjoying dinner with his cousins, his kaijin were having their own littler conversation separate from them.
Albeit, it wasn’t about the girl they had just operated on…mostly.
It should also be noted that neither Nepherage or Archanidame decided to participate in this conversation, due to them both wanting to sleep…or whatever the kaijin equivalent of it was.
[On the one hand, I am happy the maestro didn’t need me to jumpstart that girl’s heart, but on the other…I am little annoyed I didn’t get to do anything,] Hurricroak complained to the other kaijin.
Their topic of discussion was actually about their little scouting side missions that Zhen Liu had called them away from.
[Like…I could’ve continued stalking that Zhen main branch girlie if this was going to happen,] Hurricroak continued, [I’m pretty sure we could’ve learned some juicy insider information about the main branch if I had done so.]
[Yeah…I ain’t too sure about that,] Razorstella interjected, much to Hurricroak’s surprise.
[Beg pardon?]
[Alright, for starters, y’all know I am attuned to “attention”, right? Literally the foundation of my existence.]
[Duh,] Hurricroak agreed
[Obviously…,] Frosttusk concurred.
[It’s how I’ve always known you, big sister,] Spring Brawler added.
[Damn straight, anyways,] Razorstella continued, [I couldn’t bring this up at the time because when I noticed, the director was calling us back, but I could tell that the moment we got close to the gate that there was something or someone really, really strong watching over that gate. Like…strong enough to turn at least one of us into paste if we tried to fight him.]
[Really? What makes you say that?] Hurricroak asked in an incredulous tone.
[Because I was detecting the same kind of energy that the Dragon Otter was radiating when we fought it, just at a much higher purity and quantity,] Razorstella answered.
[Oh.]
[That’s…not…good…,] Frosttusk commented.
[Yeah…also, I tried to leave behind some zakos to try and act as our eyes on the inside.]
[Oh, that’s smart.]
[They all got annihilated while we were in the middle of that surgical operation. By that same intent I felt at the gate.]
[Oh, shit…]
[Yup.]
[What…happened…?]
[Well…]
Razorstella could only tell her fellow kaijin about what the zakos saw and heard before being eliminated, but it wasn’t much.
If Razorstella wanted to know what had happened, she would need to have been there to see for herself just exactly how powerful the man who eliminated her zakos was.
In another words, a story for another perspective.
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*Bing-Bong*
Please note that the following scene is technically in Tide Tongue, but for the sake of clarity, the usual <<>> will be replaced with “”.
Additionally, this next scene technically counts as a flashback or a parallel story.
Thank you, we now return to your regularly scheduled chapter.
*Bing-Bong*
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As the founders and most prominent family of Willow Scale City, the Zhen Clan had established a rather lavish estate in the most premier location in all of Willow Scale, which surprisingly, wasn’t in the exact center of the city.
Instead, the Zhen Clan estate was located on a small lake island, just near the border of Willow Scale’s walls, that was connected to the main city hub via a long stone bridge.
Of course, it’d be more accurate to say that the entire island was the Zhen Clan’s estate.
Bountiful forests full of aether medicines, waters filled with low to medirum tier aquatic aether beasts, access to a “permanent” wandering ruin and a castle made of stones that could withstand the might of even an Aether Overlord, the Zhen Clan estate was essentially a cultivator’s paradise.
And like every paradise, it had someone protecting it with vigilance and vigor baked into their bones.
“Another year, another Sapling Festival and another bottle of Moon Flower Wine for yours truly…brilliant.”
This particular guardian was an old man by the name of Zhen Bao, a bald, muscular fellow with a large beard and a love for drink that also went by the moniker of “Gate Elder”, since his primary duty was to keep watch of the estate’s main gate.
“Now then,” Zhen Bao began to say to himself as he settled into his watching perch above the Zhen Clan’s castle gate, “let’s see how long I can make this particular bottle las-hmm?”
Zhen Bao was just about to settle in and open his fourth bottle of wine this evening, when he noticed the arrival of two members of his clan arrive at the gate.
A small smile appeared on the elder’s mouth, as he recognized just who had returned for the evening.
‘Ah, it appears Xiao Ba Yin and Xiao Ren Fa are done with their work and activities, respectively, for the evening…I wonder if they brought back any snacks that can go with my drink?,’ Zhen Bao thought to himself.
The Gate Elder mused on this idea for a moment before returning to his duties as gatekeeper.
“Ho there!,” Zhen Bao shouted below with an aether enhanced voice, “what business do you have with the Zhen Clan estate?”
“Gate Elder, you know it’s us!,” Zhen Ren Fa called out, “do we really have to do this whole song and dance?”
“You know the rules, young miss. Now please, state your business.”
“We are two members of the Zhen Clan, wishing to return home,” Zhen Ba Yin picked up, knowing his niece wouldn’t.
“Really? If so, present proof of identity,” Zhen Bao responded, as was protocol.
Promoted by the Gate Elder’s question, Zhen Ba Yin and Zhen Ren Fa both produced two identical medals from their respective person.
The medals in question were two, large coin sized pieces of silver-ish metal that had the emblem of the Zhen Clan on one side of it. On the back was a special array carved in that carried the owner’s aether imprint.
This imprint was impossible to remove without destroying the medal itself.
Zhen Bai studied the medals afar while using his own aether sense to confirm that the medals were authentic and that they belonged to their correct owners. Once he was satisfied with what he saw, he gave the two youngsters outside a quick nod.
“Zhen Ba Yin and Zhen Ren Fa have been confirmed. You two are free to enter the gates. Welcome home.”
The gate to the Zhen Clan’s main estate soon began to open inward, moved by Zhen Bao’s aether, allowing the two younger generation members outside to enter.
Once he allowed the two of them in, Zhen Bao was going to kick up his feet, relax and drink the night away…at least that was the plan.
‘Wait a minute…what am I sensing?’
Zhen Bao was just about to sit down and relax again when something strange was picked up by his senses.
He could sense that it was aether, aether of people who weren’t apart of his clan no less, but there was something else mixed in.
It was a weird energy that didn’t feel like anima or dragon force, but at the same time, it did.
It was incredible contradictory and it was setting off Zhen Bao’s danger sense.
‘Damn, am I actually going to be busy tonight?,’ Zhen Bai asked himself just as he was about to get out of his chair and investigate.
However, just as he was about to go and check what was causing this sensation, that sensation suddenly disappeared…
‘Oh. Looks I don’t -wait a minute.’
…only to have several more, much weaker versions of that same sensation suddenly appearing at multiple points in his senses.
“Godsdammit.”
Having now sense these new intruders, Zhen Bao let out a sigh as he placed his bottle of wine down on the ground.
“Alright…let’s do this fast. [Armor on].”
Zhen Bao’s body surged with power as it began to condense the surrounding aether into sturdy looking armor.
“Wonder who’s dumb enough to try and invade the estate while I’m still alive…”
