Chapter 5: Is Our Son Even Human?
"AAAAAAHHHH!"
A loud scream came from a young lady that fell on her butt near the alley that the lurker was hanging out at. A crowd started to form around the lady and a body laying on the ground. Daniel and his parents joined the crowd to see what was going on.
Once they merged with the crowd to see what was going on, they saw and were able to identify the lurker.
"That's Elder Joe. What was he doing in an alleyway and who killed him? We better report this back to the clan, they will want to know what's going on." Rick stated. He was surprised that an elder from the Li clan was killed outside of the clan and that he was in a dirty alleyway. He had no idea that this Elder Joe was following them and possibly wanted to kill them.
"Isn't he close to your brother? Maybe Rob knows why he is here?" Stella questioned Rick.
[Hmmm, so it was Rob who decided to have us followed. Not that surprising. That bastard always did give me the look that he wanted us dead at all costs. Well, you want to follow me and kill me, I'll play along. I'll make you regret you ever tried to mess with me and my family. You will be in a living hell.] Daniel finally figured out who was following him and why he was sent. He was sure to get his revenge for ever being targeted by some weak nobody that thought he was a wolf chasing a sheep.
"Let's go to the clan, we'll report this then leave tomorrow."
"No. Let's just leave now. There are probably people already reporting this to the clan, and we were already supposed to be halfway to the mountain by now. Nobody will know that we saw anything. With our cloaks on nobody can recognize us either." On one hand it might be better to go back to the clan, but then on the other, it will tell Rob watch his back. Nobody saw Daniel kill Elder Joe and nobody would suspect his family when they don't really interact with him either. Rob can't tell the clan that Joe was sent to watch and kill Daniel either unless he wants to die a pointless death, so they had no reason to fear anything.
Sigh "Fine, I guess you're right. Alright, let's go."
…
Back at the Li Clan in a meeting room.
"So, what the hell happened? Why is one our elder's dead?" The patriarch of the Li clan was furious that one of the clan's elders was dead.
"We don't know patriarch. He was found dead in an alleyway. There was no one else around that could even be thought of to be the killer."
"Well, find out who it is and why?!"
"Yes, Patriarch!"
After the meeting, Rob went to meet another elder he was close with.
"So, what happened? He was watching over Rick and his family walking through town. No one should have known he was watching." Rob asked the elder.
"We don't know. He was lying dead at the corner of an alley. No one saw anything except a dead body."
"Rick found out and killed him huh?"
"I don't think so. He was killed in an unusual way. It wasn't from a sword and fist technique."
"What? Then how did he die?"
"A broken neck, and there were no signs of a fight. It looks like it was an ambush, and Joe never knew what killed him."
"What? Then who the hell did it? No one we know kills by breaking their neck. Especially if it's an assassination. Let's look around and try to find out who did it."
…
At the mountain forest.
There was lone wolf at the 6th level of Body Refinement facing off against a five-year-old boy with a dagger in hand. The boy, Daniel, was as cool as a cucumber while facing the wolf. His parents were nervously watching on from a few feet away. They didn't want Daniel to get hurt, but they also wanted to listen to him and let him take care of himself.
Daniel then started to move and used a martial technique to surround the blade of his dagger with flames. The thing that shocked Daniel's parents wasn't the fact that he was able to use a martial technique. There were some martial techniques that didn't need too long to be able to use the technique at an elementary level. What they were shocked about the fact that the technique he used was not one of the clan's martial techniques. It was much more advanced and sophisticated. The flames the wrapped around the blade were a bright blue color instead of an orange-red. The flames were thick and tightly compacted into a point, like looking at a Bunsen burner. They have never seen a technique like that before. The only blue flames that they have ever heard of are alchemy and weapon refining flames.
The wolf and Daniel were quickly closing in on each other. The wolf lunged at him trying tear Daniel apart with its claws and teeth. As soon as the wolf was a foot away from Daniel, he side-stepped and slashed the wolf on its' side. The wolf toppled over and yelped in pain. It felt a burning pain on its side. The cut was deep enough to affect the wolf's movements and bleeding profusely. Daniel didn't let the wolf rest for even a second. The wolf just got up and started charging to Daniel, when he was already in front of the wolf. He then stepped to the other side of the wolf and hacked down on the wolf's neck. When the wolf hit the ground with a huge gash on the neck just above the shoulder, Daniel jumped on top of the wolf and used an enhanced version of the martial technique lightning strike.
A thick, bright, white lightning bolt coiled around the dagger's blade. Daniel then thrust the blade in the wolf's skull and it let out one last howl before the life left its' eyes. Once Daniel killed the wolf, he immediately started to skin the wolf and dissect it.
His parents were so surprised by the fact that not only did Daniel use techniques they have never seen before, but that he also killed a wolf 2 levels in cultivation higher than himself in a couple of minutes.
"Where did you learn those martial techniques and how to fight like that from?"
"Hmm? I learned them from the clan library of course. Where do you think I learned them from?"
"What?! I've never seen those martial techniques before. There is no way the clan has those."
"Sure, they do. The techniques were Flame strike and Lightning strike. I just have a stronger comprehension over the technique than anyone else."
"What do you mean you have a stronger comprehension over the technique?"
"Well, let me ask first. Why does a fire burn, or how does a fire start or burn?"
"Umm, because something is on fire?"
"No, a fire needs a fuel source and oxygen, the air we breathe, to keep start and burning. The reason a fire burns is because something is hot. Further explanation would be too complicated for you to understand. But, the fuel source that a fire needs could be multiple things such as wood. Wood burning gives the classic orange-red glow that we all know. I was imagining something else when I used the technique to give the blue glow and tightly condensed flames."
His parents were so shocked about his explanation they didn't know what else to say. After Daniel finished dissecting and skinning the wolf, he made a quick makeshift bag with the wolf pelt with the meat and some bones placed in the bag, and they left to go a little further into the forest. A little deeper in the forest they ran into an 8th level Body Refinement monkey. The monkey had brown fur, looked like a chimpanzee, and was about one and half meters tall.
Daniel decided to fight with his bare-fists this time since the monkey doesn't have claws that he has to worry about. His parents were even more worried that he wasn't using a weapon and the beast was four levels higher than himself.
Before his parents could stop him and kill the monkey themselves, Daniel lit his arms up in a blue fiery glow and charged at the chimpanzee. At first the monkey was surprised that someone was attacking it, but then it got really angry that it was only some kid at the 4th level of Body Refinement. The monkey was so furious that it wanted to rip Daniel's limbs off and beat him to death with them.
Once the monkey got close enough to grab Daniel, it reached to grab his arms but was surprised that he dodged it so fast. In the next moment, the monkey was sent flying into a tree that was a meter thick and had a burning, aching pain in its gut. Before the monkey knew what happened, it was punched in the face then slammed into the ground by its neck. By the time, it figured out what happened, it saw Daniel on top of pummeling its' face in with flaming fists that burned every inch of the monkey where Daniel hit it.
The monkey finally reacted to what was going on and tried to throw its' fist at Daniel. Daniel jumped off of the monkey just in time before he was hit. The chimp got up after realizing its' punch missed and Daniel was no longer on top of it. It was so infuriated that it directly charged in for round two, only to get electrocuted by a fist full of lightning. In the quick instant that the chimp was stunned, Daniel pulled out his dagger and stabbed the dagger in the chimpanzee's head.
Daniel's parents stood as still as a rock by being shocked by the current events taking place in front of them.