How to grab a tiger by the tail

Dai jumped to her feet so quickly that she tripped and hit her chin. She ignored it and straightened up again. She kept looking at the description the System had given her. Couldn't she understand what happened? Why are Filn and Teru in danger all of a sudden? And who is looking for her? Why would any mystical being be looking for her?

Panicking a bit, she grabbed her head and started pacing back and forth as she thought about it.

She stopped when she realized her head was empty. She knew nothing, so how could she make something up?

"What… what should I do?" she asked.

But the System was silent. Either it had no way to help her or it didn't want to. Her face darkened and she began to rub her temples.

Could she have used Leonid? The system didn't put any restrictions on her, but that could also mean she couldn't do much, not even with Leonid. Besides, she couldn't just drive him into unknown danger.

She closed her eyes. "Good. Good. What will be the first step?" Thoughts of Leonid did not leave her. Just because she doesn't want to send him into danger doesn't mean he can't do some research. So the first step is to find out what's going on.

She calmed down a bit when she figured out what she should do first.

Dai ran down the hill and went inside the shop where she bought a Midnight Spider Cracker. Certainty is certain. Then she went to address Leonid who was cultivating outside the shop.

"Leonid?" she addressed him.

Leonid shuddered a little and after a moment opened his eyes and looked at her.

"What is it lass?" she normally didn't interrupt him until he was done.

"I need you to go to the Southern Shelter in the outer ring. I want you to find out what's going on there, but not interfere. Then come back." she asked him.

Leonid frowned thoughtfully and stood up. "Are you sending me on an errand?" that would be a first.

Dai nodded. "Yes. Someone out there is looking for me and causing trouble. I need to find out exactly what's going on."

Leonid hesitated for a moment, Dai looked quite serious, it seems it was something important. But he didn't think much of it. It made sense for her to send him. Dai would be an easy target.

"Good." He agreed and started for the door.

"Anything specific I should be looking for?" Dai escorted him out the door, handing him a Midnight Spider Cracker. She didn't have to explain anything, after all, he knew what it was and what it could do.

"By the Southern Outer Wall are the houses for the poorest people of the outer circle. Look there. Don't risk anything. Just... look."

Leonid looked at her again and nodded. "Okay. Wait for my return, lass." he went out and Dai watched the door for a moment.

Then she turned and walked back into the store. He has to go through the things he has available and figure out the best way to use them.

*****

Outside, the sun was already slowly setting. That's good. Leonid walked out of the shop, he wasn't going to mess around with this. Dai looked genuinely worried. He breathed in and released spirit energy from his body before shooting his body forward. A cloud of dust rose behind him. He dashed past walkers and other cultivators who sensed him and eased out of his way themselves. The only people he had to avoid were ordinary people. The gust of wind he created while running lifted many a skirt.

Leonid didn't bother with the main gate, he'd just get over the wall of the inner circle. As he approached, he bounced off and jumped many meters high into the air, though it wasn't enough to jump over the wall cleanly, he used the energy in his body to quickly climb the rest to the top. Dai was right that he should cultivate. It is said that cultivators who reach the Hight Low Realm can even fly.

Leonid was never actually in the outer circle. It was not so noticeable near the wall, but a little further away it was clear how impoverished this part of the city had become. And the further south he headed, the more shabby the houses became.

As he neared the outer wall, he slowed down and began to look around more. Eventually, he slowed down to a brisk walk, people here were avoiding him completely, some even ran away.

That was the best for Leonid. This place... was... quite quiet, wasn't it? Leonid started to get nervous for some reason. The air here was tense and stuffy as if the space itself was waiting for something to burst.

He turned his head so violently that his spine tingled. He could sense someone's cultivation. And it was higher than his. Hight Middle Realm? No... higher. Hight Realm? He couldn't judge it. He felt it was even stronger. But.... was there even higher cultivation? He always thought that the Hight Realm was the ultimate for humans.

Leonid shivered and quickly ate a Midnight Spider Cracker. Hell, he definitely had no intention of messing with this powerhouse, but he'd rather not take any chances.

He wiped the droplets from his mustache and slowly approached. The streets here were cleared, and people locked themselves in their houses or left them completely.

After a while, he saw a living soul. The man staggered down the street, looking as if he had lost the will to live. He was holding his shoulder and his right hand was swinging limply at his side.

Leonid frowned and walked towards him.

"Brother, what's going on here? Where is everyone?" he came up to him and asked straight away. The man's condition didn't look the best and it probably had something to do with what was going on there, but Leonid didn't care much about what was wrong with the man, he just wanted to know the situation. He'd rather not go in this direction any further.

Filn looked up at Leonid who stopped him. He didn't even notice him because of the pain and frantic thinking about what he was going to do.

"There… a mutated... woman appeared," Filn said.

Leonid raised an eyebrow in surprise. Mutant woman? He had heard of mutated people, but in truth, he had always thought they were just rumors just like the bogeyman.

"Sir…sir….you are a cultivator? Can you kill her? She took my wife!" suddenly Filn grabbed him by the wrist with his good hand. He didn't care if he upset the cultivator, he needed some hope, so he grabbed it. Leonid was surprised when he heard this. Why would someone so powerful kidnap an ordinary woman?

But Leonid was no fool. The dots were connecting. He scanned the man in front of him again. Dai said that someone who wants to cause trouble is looking for her. He just assumed this area was her home. So naturally the mutant woman was here looking for her. But she didn't find her, so did she kidnap some woman? She probably knew Dai. So, hostage?

He now understood why the sly lass had sent him. He had no idea she could be so calculating. But he didn't blame her in any way, it was a good trait for a businesswoman.

"Your wife. Is she a friend of a woman named Dai?" he finally asked.

Filn gripped his hand tighter as he glared at Leonid.

"Yes. She knows Dai. You... too... are you after her?" he asked slowly.

"Go after her? No. I work for her."

Filn let go of his hand and staggered. "You… work for Dai? A cultivator?" his world seems to have been turned upside down.

Leonid had the feeling that he had said something he shouldn't. Dai seems to have been hiding what she was doing from her friends. Leonid tugged at his mustache. "So she kidnapped your wife to lure Dai right?" he returned to the subject before revealing anything else.

Filn he blinked and looked down before nodding in agreement.

"And she let you go because...?"

Filn bit his lip. "She wants me to bring Dai to her." He told the truth.

Leonid nodded in understanding. He thought it would be something like this. "And where is she now?"

"At Dai's house."

"Okay. Let's go then. I'll take you to Dai and we'll figure something out. She found out something was up and sent me here. She's definitely coming up with a plan." Leonid said confidently.

Relief appeared on Filn's face.

*****

"It's all bullshit!" Dai yelled angrily and kicked the counter. It didn't even move, not even a smudge was left, it hurt her toes and it didn't help her at all.

System: "Shop owner, please do not take out your helplessness on the equipment." a voice suddenly said and Dai became even angrier. It didn't say anything the whole time and now it just preaching to her?

Before she could scold it, it spoke up itself.

System: "This situation arose based on your decisions, boss. You are also not in immediate danger right now. It is not the duty of the System to take care of your friends. However, it has been evaluated that the psychological damage of losing a loved one is risky for you. Therefore, the System has intervened with a notification. However, the next steps are entirely up to you, boss. The system is only concerned with your safety."

It gave Dai a headache. So she actually has a mother bear?

Of course, she didn't expect any real help from it. But the advice wasn't bad.

Since Leonid was gone, she went through everything at her disposal to come up with a solution.

But she felt that most things were of no use to her. Yes, she could survive one killing blow, but in the mix... everything else was useless to her. She couldn't use Leonid either, he was an employee, and putting him in danger would be wrong in every way. If he didn't volunteer himself. Which he won't do.

She turned her head sharply as someone walked into the shop. Leonid came back carrying... Filn over his shoulder?

"Ah! Filn! Leonid? What happened?" she hurried to them. Leonid laid the unconscious Filn on the ground.

"He was too slow. So I took him, but he's injured and passed out," he replied, scratching his head. He didn't feel like he was running that wildly.

Dai immediately bought Pain Lord Suffering Balm and looked for injuries. She had to take off his top to find that his shoulder was all black and swollen.

Dai sighed and began applying the salve.

"Huh like old times..." She mumbled a little nostalgically. But she applied the salve and let it work before turning to Leonid. She was half relieved. Filn was in front of her, alive and relatively well. That was the most important thing to her.

"What have you found out?" she asked immediately.

Leonid explained what he had learned from Filn and then watched Dai pacing the store thoughtfully.

Filn started moaning a bit on the ground, but he was still unconscious. Dai glanced at him briefly before returning to marching. Her heart calmed down. Now only Teru was in danger. Like Teru, she wasn't close to her either. But she was Filn's wife, so she couldn't just let things go.

After a moment she stopped and rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

"I think I know how to get Teru to safety. It won't solve the main problem with the mutant woman, but we can deal with that after everyone is okay." She finally said with an idea in her head.

Leonid nodded his head. "So what's the plan?"

Dai looked at him. "You know about how I disappear now and then?" He nodded.

"Well...actually it's the way I could get home quickly. The mutant is in my house with Teru too. If I show up there, I can grab Teru and come back. If I'm fast enough. I'll take the Midnight Spider Crackers just in case." She explained.

Leonid had thought for a while that Dai was teleporting, he just didn't know that he could do it across almost the entire Shelter!

"That sounds...promising. But can you teleport other people?" he asked.

Dai looked at him and then looked away.

Leonid rolled his eyes. She didn't think of that, did she?!

"Nice idea, but if you're not sure you're just going to die, lass!" he scolded her. If he hadn't asked, would she even have thought of it?

Dai cleared her throat of embarrassment. Oh so awkward! And she thought she had come up with such a great idea!

She sighed. "I can just try. Or…" She stopped and thought of something.

She immediately opened her interface and looked at the wording of the main task.

System: Main Quest

Description: Obtain Low Realm cultivation within one week.

Reward: Unlock the Connections folder

Failure: Cultivation ability will be blocked

Note: The system does not blackmail you, Boss. It just keeps you motivated.

She asked in her mind. "System. When I access the Connections folder what can I do with it?"

System: "I can't talk about the feature until it's unlocked."

Dai sighed. "Okay. So in theory. Will I be able to manipulate the current store connection?"

System: ".... Yes."

Dai nodded. "Okay. I know what to do now. I have to break through and become a cultivator. And today!"

"Huh?" Leonid made a surprised sound.