3 Foolish and Stupid

The man with the moustache was currently shaking with anger, his fists clenching over and over as he watched Devotion greedily scoop up his money.

"I swear to god, Devotion, I will make your life a living hell! Do you even know who you're messing with?!" The man with the moustache was absolutely furious, his circular face turning a bright scarlet as he yelled. By now, everyone in the alleyway had turned towards the commotion.

The bald man made his way over, ready to act as a sort of mediator.

"Alright, what's going on here?" He asked, glaring straight at Devotion. If he didn't know better, he might have thought that the bald man was staring directly into his soul. Unbeknownst to Devotion, the man was indeed doing just that.

"This man cheated! He cheated me out of all of my money, I want him dead!" The moustached man continued yelling, about to pass out from anger.

"Careful, you might raise your blood pressure too much with all that yelling. Mr. Baldy, sir, I assure you, I did not cheat. If I were to cheat, I wouldn't have let you slap me so many times first! That would be foolish and stupid!"

"A foolish and stupid act from a stupid and foolish man." The bald man replied. With that, he did something that Devotion had never seen. He released the aura of his cultivation base!

This man was a First Rank cultivator! He had indeed been staring into Devotion's soul, performing a Soul Search to see if he was cheating!

Devotion felt the aura leak out of the bald man. His blood instantly ran cold. He had made a very, very stupid mistake. He swallowed his mouthful of saliva, terrified and scrambling to figure out how to get out of this one.

"Isn't that right, David Maliere?" The bald man said, taking another step towards our protagonist. The man with the moustache's face instantly changed from it's rage fueled scarlet color to a sly grin. He was practically bursting with joy, ready to see David get ripped apart.

"Y-yeah, I suppose that's right. That was pretty foolish and stupid of me. How about we make things even?" David was thinking fast, his cover now blown. He had no idea how this bald man knew his real name, but he was in too deep now.

"And how would you do that?" The bald man replied, taking another step towards David. Each step he took increased the aura locking onto David, making it hard for him to even stand. David clenched his fist, then resolved himself.

He put on his best poker face again, going wide-eyed with astonishment. he stared directly behind the bald man, up into the sky, and pointed.

"T-the Night of Falling Stars! It-It's happening again!" He shouted and pointed. His act was convincing enough, causing each person in the alleyway to look towards the sky excitedly.

Of course, nothing was really happening, and the night sky was completely normal. However, the amount of time everyone turned, including the bald man, was enough time for David to run. The bald man turned back around, seeing nothing where David used to be.

"After him! He took my money!" The man with the moustache, now the man swindled out of hundreds of gold pieces, was beyond furious. He collapsed from rage, crumpling to the floor in a pile. The bald man clenched his fists, then sprinted in the direction he thought David went.

Meanwhile, David was running for his life.

"Shit, shit, shit." David muttered to himself as ducked between alleyways and throw the streets. He knew he'd have to leave the city, and probably couldn't return to his shed either. If the bald man knew his name, he could easily figure out where he lived. He'd have to practically change his name and identity to survive.

David sprinted for some time, eventually breaking past the walls of his small town and into the forest. He'd never camped before, but he'd need to spend a night here. There wasn't really much choice.

Just as David felt he had reached a point he could rest, he heard the last thing he'd wanted to hear: footsteps. Someone was following him, and getting closer. Quickly.

David took a second to catch his breath, then took off yet again. He knew he couldn't fight the bald man, there was no way he could take a First Rank Immortal! He'd have to outrun him, hide, or die. There was another option, give up the money, but David refused to even consider that. He needed this money.

As David ran, he heard the footsteps behind him growing closer and closer. The forest was thick, and David was already lost. It didn't help that is was dark and the terrain was uneven, and it was just David's luck when he tripped on a branch and fell.

"Fuck..." David groaned, slowly getting up. That had hurt. A lot. Just as he got up, the bald man broke through the tree line, making direct eye contact with David. He felt that terrifying aura once more lock onto him. David looked around his area, hoping for something to help him, get him out of this predicament. The bald man noticed David looking up behind him again.

"Not gonna work this time, buddy, and you have really pissed me off." The bald man spoke, punching his chest as he advanced forward. Just as David had given up, his hand grazed a strange object, buried in the dirt. It felt like an old sheet of paper. At the exact moment David touched it, he heard a voice in his head.

"How about this Senior helps you out? This bald man is quite irritating." The bald man didn't react to that voice at all, seemingly unable to hear it. David looked around, trying to find the source.

"I'm in your head, idiot. Do you want help or not?" David simply nodded yes, and watched as a bright light enveloped his hand.

"Just point at him and he'll leave."

David did as the strange voice commanded, raising his finger and pointing. Suddenly, a bright light shot out in a purple beam from his finger, striking the bald man in the best. The bald man staggered back, eyes wide.

"You're an Immortal!" As he made that realization, the bald man turned and ran. He figured he'd rather offend a rich man than an immortal.

After taking a second to catch his breath and make sure the coast was clear, David heard the voice again.

"Now, you gonna get me off the ground or what?" David looked around, trying to figure out what the voice was talking about.

"I'm under your left hand, idiot. Dig me up already!" David did as he was told, his eyes going wide with shock as he looked at the object that had saved him.

David was holding an old, worn-out journal page, covered with strange writings. He had found one of the pages of Old Rydel Alabaster's Journal!