CHAPTER 51: The Calm Aftermath of Killing Someone

This wasn't the first time that Han Shuo had killed someone, but compared to killing forest trolls, the impact on Han Shuo's heart from slaughtering Claude was extremely great.

After all, forest trolls were a different race from him, and they were known robbers. Killing them felt as natural to Han Shuo as killing magical creatures, but Claude was completely different from them. Han Shuo had been forced to kill him because he knew in his heart that if Claude didn't die, Han Shuo would be able to erase all thoughts of living his life peacefully in the future.

As he watched Claude weaken and sink into a pool of blood, Han Shuo felt a bit numb at that moment. There was an empty feeling in his heart, he hadn't hesitated when he made his move, and it was only as he watched Claude die in front of him that a feeling of nervousness grew in Han Shuo.

Claude was a noble and the youngest son of the commander of the Empire's Gryphon Legion. If news of this matter leaked out, only death awaited Han Shuo.

Looking at Claude's corpse, Han Shuo stared dumbly into space for a while. His original slightly panicked expression became more and more determined and cold.

Finally, Han Shuo rearranged his clothes and stood up, walking over to Claude with a calm face and rummaging through his clothes. He took out a few gold coins from his purse, a crystal card and some scattered medicine.

After a moment's thought, Han Shuo put away only the gold coins. He set aside the potentially incriminating crystal card and Claude's other belongings.

A small skeleton wielding a bone knife appeared in front of Han Shuo after his incantation had finished. Han Shuo searched a desolate clearing as a man and a skeleton wielding bone knives and daggers spent a few minutes digging a deep hole. After burying Claude in the hole, Han Shuo carefully cleaned up the traces of blood Claude had left behind. He even slowly covered up the marks where he'd fallen down and rolled around.

After circling the patch of forest and making sure that no clues had been left behind, Han Shuo did not return by the original route. Instead, he made another circle and dug a deep hole north of Drol, burying all of Claude's belongings. Finally, he returned to Drol by another road.

He did all this because he was careful and cautious. They hadn't attracted anyone's attention on the way to the forest with Claude earlier because Claude had done so on purpose.

Now that Han Shuo had killed him and carefully buried his body, logically, no one should discover it. Even if someone accidentally discovered Claude's body, Han Shuo had taken all of Claude's belongings from the body, giving the impression of a robbery and murder. These things happened quite often in the city of Drol, and should be able to hide the original cause of death.

After tying up these loose ends, Han Shuo spent the next two days hiding in the vicinity of Irene and the others' hotel, silently observing the movements of the Light Major students. He noticed that neither Irene nor Beacher came looking for Claude. It was as if they thought Claude had wronged them first and so left him alone.

Claude was certainly the one who understood his physical condition the best. No matter how he tried to explain under the circumstances, it was more than likely that not many would believe his words, and judging by the timing of Claude's arrival and his understanding of the psychedelic aphrodisiac, he more or less suspected that Claude had come for revenge as soon as he'd sobered up and hadn't had time to explain anything to Irene or Beacher.

After two days of observation, Han Shuo finally relaxed and let his guard down when he saw that Irene and Beacher made no move to look for Claude and only focused their attention on spending money as they visited various weapon and armour sellers as well as pharmacists.

At dusk that night, Han Shuo did not venture out again to keep an eye on Irene and Beacher, but stayed inside to practise magic in silence. Again and again, he expanded the width of his body's meridians and improved their flexibility.

Han Shuo sat on the edge of his bed, completely naked, sweat pouring down his entire body, starting from his forehead. The tendons of his body jumped as they bulged out like an endless number of worms moving through the surface of his body. It looked more creepy and terrifying than even the most evil tattoo.

All the while, a sudden shudder ran through Han Shuo's mind as he sank into a senseless realm. For the moment, he forgot himself, forgot time, and was like a sculpture without life. Only a faint hint of black splendour circulated beneath his skin.

Dondondon.

A sudden round of fierce knocking abruptly woke Han Shuo. As Han Shuo regained consciousness, he took stock of himself and understood that he must have unknowingly slipped into the demonic state of mind just now.

Dondondon.

The knocking was still going on and Han Shuo was a little irritated that his training had been interrupted. He grabbed a random towel and wrapped it around himself, saying irritably, "Coming. Coming!"

As the door opened, Han Shuo received the shock of his life. The irritated expression on his face vanished without a trace as it immediately turned into a smiling face. He said happily, "Ah, it's you. I've been waiting for you for a long time. You've finally come back."

Standing outside the door, Fanny and Lisa looked a little tired and their hair was a little mussed. They were carrying things in their hands and rucksacks on their backs, looking rather tired from the journey. It looked like they'd just returned from the Dark Forest.

"You Bryan, you actually made it back to Drol so long ago?. We were worried about you for a while. Oh, where did you get the money to live in such an expensive room? If it wasn't for the certainty of the owner, I really wouldn't have believed that you were the one living in this room." Fanny's clear eyes swept over Han Shuo and she spoke with a bit of bite in her words.

"Bryan, what happened the day you left? You didn't come back for two days and I thought something had happened to you?" Lisa said.

"I got lost after I left and when I found the original camp I discovered that you'd long since left. I couldn't find you, so I went ahead and returned to the town of Drol to wait for you. I am glad to see that everyone is well. That's wonderful." Han Shuo smiled slightly and explained weakly.

Fanny looked at Han Shuo, thought for a moment and spoke to Lisa next to her. "Lisa, go and finish arranging the rooms with Master Gene and the others. I have a few things to discuss with Bryan."

Lisa looked at Fanny with some suspicion and said, "Master Fanny, that incident has been over for a long time now. Bryan even saved our lives... do you still hold a grudge against him?"

Fanny's face reddened when she heard Lisa mention the incident again. She said angrily, "No, I have other things to discuss with him. Go and choose a room for me and I'll be right back."

Lisa still wasn't entirely satisfied with Fanny's explanation, but said nothing further as she turned to leave, muttering something under her breath.

As soon as Lisa was gone, Fanny glanced over at Han Shuo and looked at the room she'd once lived in, seeming to remember what had happened the last time as her cheeks turned even redder. She huffed slightly and said, "Aren't you going to invite me in?"

"Uh, Master Fanny, this way please." Han Shuo was taken aback and quickly turned his body to the side. When Fanny had stepped inside, he stuck his head out to look down the corridor and hastily closed the door tightly, as if acting with a guilty conscience.

"What are you doing so secretly? I ask you, what happened the day after you left the camp? How did you get the gold coins to stay in this room?" Fanny nailed Han Shuo with a patrolling stare after she sat down.

Han Shuo still hadn't fully recovered from killing Claude. When he heard Fanny's words, he was a bit surprised. He thought for a moment and then explained with a laugh, "When I left the camp that day, I stayed nearby to practice necromancy magic. I came across an injured Windblade wolf. I chased the injured Windblade Wolf and finally killed it when it wasn't paying attention. When I returned to the camp, I made my way back here after realising that you had left.

When I got back to Drol, I sold the Windblade Wolf's core and pelt. That's how I got the gold coins. I thought you would probably stay here when you returned, so I rented the room to wait for you. This is what happened."

Fanny didn't speak immediately after Han Shuo finished, but rather looked at Han Shuo in apparent thought. After a while, she exhaled lightly, "Bryan, you really are completely different from before!"

He began, managing to squeeze out an honest smile. He scratched his head, "Really? How am I different?"

"In many ways. Your appearance, body and size, as well as your personality and expressions when you speak, are all far too different from how I knew you before. It seems that you are the one who has changed the most after experiencing the trials of the Dark Forest. All the disciples have undergone some changes after constantly facing life and death battles, but who would've thought that your change would be the greatest? How shocking!" Fanny stared dumbly at Han Shuo and said with a stern face.

Han Shuo understood that during that time in the Dark Forest, unbeknownst to him, a real change had occurred in the way he looked at things. This change had accompanied the increase in his strength and the dangers he had faced. After killing Claude with his own hands the day before yesterday and a serious round of reflection, Han Shuo had gained a clearer understanding of the harsh realities of this world, and with that, his heart had become colder and crueler.

"Master Fanny, you left a message saying that you met the two man-eating monsters. Did you end up coming into conflict with them?" Han Shuo laughed lightly and didn't explain things any further, but began to ask Fanny what had happened to them afterwards.

"Of course, the two man-eating monsters continued to follow us. They even conspired with some forest trolls to attack us. In the end, we made it out, but our paths had changed significantly from our original direction as we avoided the man-eating monsters and the forest trolls. That's why it took us so long to get back to Drol. Fanny replied.

Nodding, Han Shuo was about to open his mouth when he suddenly frowned and stood up abruptly. He said with a serious face, "Looks like we're in trouble."

"Everyone on alert! The orcish wolf riders have appeared in the southern part of Drol. They are heading this way, everyone prepare for battle!"

Suddenly, loud cries could be heard from the streets outside the hotel, all related to the impending invasion of the orc wolf riders.