Back to Shrek.

"Don't you want to know?" - Aiden finally left the vicinity of a Mountain where Tang Hao built his little paradise of a drunkard. Let's hope not the one anymore.

"Why you didn't ask anything about Na'er? You would have asked if you needed it. So I presume you already figured out everything." - Third shrugged.

"It so obvious, huh?"

"Pretty much. With your perseverance in finding the culprits even after so many years, it would have been strange if you left without knowing. So, what was it?" - stated Third, while jumping over a muddy pool on the ground. Moist freshness still lingered in the air after the rain.

"Make an educated guess." - said Aiden, doing the same. - "I'm thinking about having a personal avian spirit beast for travel."

"And skip on the perfect chance to train?" - Third looked at the little bracelets on his hands. They might look unassuming but in reality weight a hell of a lot. Gravity manipulation through formations in all its beauty. Perfect for training. Aiden wore them recently.

"You are changing the topic?"

"Surely I am." - she smiled, but mask covered it as always. - "What can it be? Mind reading?"

"Your first guess and right on the mark." - sighed Aiden.

"So, how did you do this? I'm quite curious."

Aiden glanced at her. The one that contemplated to tell or not to tell. What happened during healing Tang Hao made him quite shocked. Perhaps, it was because the death energy invaded the soul, or maybe it will happen all the time. He didn't know for sure.

But his healing seems to have some secrets he is yet to understand.

'Maybe every skill from a ring is like that? I really need to experiment on this. But damn... it was unpleasant.'

When ribbons of healing skill touched Tang Hao body, he not only thoroughly understood the wound, as if it analyzed everything for him but saw how it was inflicted. It was like a glimpse of past events from the third person perspective.

If that was all, they're bound to be many questions remaining. The real thing started when his ribbons touched the soul. More than half of it was already reeking with death. And then he saw memories of Tang Hao. More than half of his life. His brother, their adventures together, meeting Ah Yin and further travel, the hunt of Spirit Hall, and the birth of Tang San.

'The latter was funny before reincarnation, by the way. A snotty brat. Should have taken pictures to blackmail him but never had a chance.'

And the very recent memory. His battle in the depth of the forest.

"When I first saw it, I couldn't believe my eyes. I thought it is just some hallucination." - he said slowly, while they came out of the forest and finally walked on the flat ground of the road. Third was listening in silence. - "Tang Hao got his ass owned hard. And by a little kid at that. It was a boy about four years old in appearance. His eyes were... strange. Completely black and slightly mad. Yes, the madness of some sort was there, deep down in his gaze. If you ask me, he was the closest to my vision of what an actual demon should be. Wherever the boy stepped, life died. Tang Hao never stood a chance. The boy just threw him here and there like a rag doll. It wasn't a battle, but one-sided beating."

= That's it!

'My goodness! Scared the shit out of me, Nexus. Don't scream like that! It is my head you are using!'

= Calm down, Master. It is vital! I thought and thought, and it was hard. I tried to figure out how is it possible a demon of death never got sealed. And that's the answer. Because he is someone similar to you. There is a record of a certain demonic ritual in my library. It can seal all cultivation base and soul of a living creature inside an artifact. It was an art of the previous cultivation era that helped to create powerful demonic armaments with armament spirit inside. But there is another use. If the armament is a special soul vessel, it can serve as a container to hold life for a host to be reborn later.

'You are saying that demon was literally born here anew and has a human body now?'

= More like he entered the fetus through a special ritual to be reborn. That ritual is recorded only in passing, as it was never completed back then. Someone must have done it after the fall, and it was a demon. The only thing I know is that ritual required the armament and a huge amount of energy of the same attribute the demon has. The energy is very easy to get from sacrifices. In our case, it was death. So, many people should have died to it. Also, there must be strict requirements for the vessel as well for it to hold the power of such magnitude and not break down.

'Living dead of Gurong town.'

= My best guess too, Master. This town should have been a place of birth.

Aiden cursed inwardly with a grim face.

'I didn't know. I never thought of such a possibility. And the attacks stopped.'

= I didn't analyze it that deep too, so it must tell you something, Master.

'Now we need to do it. How many types of demons are there? How do they perform the sacrifices?'

= I recommend investigating deaths due to a certain cause. Like the work of a maniac. For example, if many people found burned alive in one area, it can signify the reincarnation of a fire demon. Gurong Town must have been a place where this demon of death got his new life.

"Third, any news from Gurong Town?" - Aiden nodded to Nexus in his thoughts and sighed. That will be one hell of a headache.

"Not for now. But I think the report was already subjected to our branch in Heaven Dou Imperial City." - she said evenly.

"I miss an email and the internet."

"I don't understand what you are saying. But you didn't finish. As far as I know from your explanation, Tang Hao's battle didn't give you a clue."

"It didn't, but I saw it from his perspective and with his senses. I must say, senses of Titled Douluos are something else entirely. He felt it. In a brief moment. A glimpse of two powerful auras. They should be at least Spirit Douluos level. There is no guarantee they were the ones, but I'm sure they are related. Eventually, I will figure out who killed her." - Aiden raised his head to the sky and squinted under the bright sun. Noon was coming fast.

"But how will you find them with only a little feel to their aura? It's not that easy. You need to stand near the person to compare."

Road went into the long valley, coronas of trees covered the land in shadows. They were growing directly on cliffs, showing resilience and power of nature in all its might.

"I'll figure out a way. Still, it is already a lead. A solid one and no longer guessing and roaming in the dark. Plus, I more or less know who is the culprit. Spirit Hall, so we need so high ranking members from their organization, that already narrowed the search."

'If those demons are so powerful right from the start, then we need to hunt them down even earlier. Tang Hao is not the strongest, but by far not weak at all. Whatever. Let the Dragon Fang investigate this first.'

"True." - Third agreed and then laughed under her mask.

"What so funny?"

"No, I just thought of one thing here. So, I kicked his brain. You pried it open and rummaged through it. I can't help but pity little Hao here. He got it rough." - Third laughed again.

"You realize that he is a Titled Douluo, right?"

"Who cares?" - shrugged invincible woman. - "He pissed me off with all that crying and whining."

"I don't know whether you are fearless or reckless."

"Neither. He was a laying wooden log. I'm a fast runner, I can hide my aura and I have a mask." - she stated bluntly, like all was planned beforehand. - "And with his condition, I don't think he even registered what happened. He might think I am a hallucination." - that jinx added cheerfully.

They walked out of a valley with firm footsteps. Aiden flicked Horont. There was something strange in the air, so he thought it was best to remove it. Soul Land has many different locations. They all have some unique properties and sometimes even laws of physics can't be applied strictly.

"Just try not to appear in front of him again. I don't want to explain to enraged Titled Douluo why he was kicked in the head like some misbehaved donkey."

"Yes, Sovereign." - Third replied obediently. Aiden didn't buy it.

"Let's move faster. Back to the Shrek Academy."

They blurred out of existence, leaving only a trail of swirling wind.