A place to stay (Part 2)

"Then it will be a bit long..." - he said finally. - "I don't remember myself from childhood much, only that my father died when I was a kid and that I belong to a nomad tribe of the North Pole." - at this point, Liu Erlong was already fully engrossed by the story and gasped with astonishment because it was common knowledge that the North Pole was a no man's land, a death zone where no people can survive for long. - "It is hard to procure food for the family with no man and my mother was beautiful and attracted tribe chief. He didn't want to have any sons as he saw them as a threat for his reign and so... he forced others not to help mother and not to give jobs..." - Liu Erlong smashed the table swearing with no elegance whatsoever. - "And eventually he came to our house and mother did it with him... and then she entered his harem with only one condition to fulfill – get rid of me."

At that phrase, Liu Erlong froze in place and looked at the youth, who was still a little boy, with many emotions but the first one was just a wish to embrace him in a motherly hug.

Sena was very depressed hearing it and cried silently. Well, kids are easily shaken, after all. She never thought her big brother who smiled at her and was very kind-hearted will have such a sad past.

"They exiled me and chief ordered to break my limbs before doing so. They left me in the snow to die." - Aiden talked with a monotone voice, but exactly this made Liu Erlong even more furious at his fate. She already forgot about all his power and talent and only saw a lonely, abandoned boy who somehow survived the impossible. - "I was three back then." - this shook both listeners to the core. - "And while I was dying because of cold my spirit awakened by himself and healed me."

Then he called out his first ring, making Liu Erlong stand up in shock.

First ring – purple!

He told her how he could kill a plant and inject its ring, how he then trained and fought for survival, reached here, he even inadvertently revealed his identity as a Dragon Sword Asura, but didn't mention his fight with Spirit Hall.

After the long talk was over Aiden drank the cup in full and sat in silence not knowing what to do... he was normally not that talkative. Of course, he never mentioned reincarnation, Nexus, Divine Forge Tools, and second spirit. It proves unnecessary to do so, even harmful.

Liu Erlong said nothing, just stood up and hugged him.

Aiden froze in place. He didn't know how to react to that. He felt... protected as he can finally relax a bit. But also irritated. He barely knew Liu Erlong and such sudden closeness made him tense up as if his body expected an attack to come at any given moment.

Sensing his vigilance and mistrust in the hands of the unknown person she was, Liu Erlong felt even more indignant about his life and carefully let go of him. She can tell he was hurt so deeply that he simply let go of any notion of finding home and family. He was so ignorant of parental love and care, that it causes him to not expect anything from anyone. To put it simply, he is a loner, but she knew it can't be that way. It is a life of pure torture.

He was like her.

"You've been through a lot." - she said, and her voice had so much compassion and unconditional empathy, that Aiden just nodded and relaxed a bit. Sensing that he is no longer like a porcupine ready to burst, she smiled lightly. - "Stay here and this academy can be your new home. No one will harm you here."

"Thank you... headmaster." - he found it strange to call her that way, as if it was too distant, yet appropriate at the same time. Aiden wanted to draw an obvious line, yet hesitated to choose how far it should be.

"Don't call me headmaster." - she said with some perturbed notes in the voice. Aiden raised his head and looked into her inky eyes.

"Then how should I call you?" - he asked evenly.

Liu Erlong wanted to even adopt him here and now. She was lonely too. But a second later she thought it through and find that she might scare him away. It was a hunch of a woman with experience.

"Just call me aunt Erlong." - she finally said and somehow Aiden felt a tinge of disappointment, but it went away quickly.

"Fine. I will call you aunt Erlong." - he nodded and said. There was no clumsiness or shyness in his words at all. He seemed rather cool about the entire situation.

Liu Erlong nodded and smiled brightly, lightening the mood in no time.

"I want to call headmaster aunt Erlong too!" - suddenly sounded from the side. There sat pouting little Sena with an expression of pure cuteness.

"Haha... and you too of course." - she dragged her into an embrace with no sense of distance between the two.

"So you are like a sister to my mother from now on. If anything happens, you should protect her well, aunty!" - said Sena craftily.

Liu Erlong looked at the clever eyes of the girl and laughed. Sure enough, they both are little monsters.

* * *

At the same time. Spirit Hall HQ.

He liked this place since long ago. No disturbance, no nuisances, and no people, that tend to be both of the above mentioned most of the time they visit him. And today was no exception, however, guests were rather important.

The old man turned around and looked at the duo, standing beside him. His white long hair fluttered in the air. From the third point of view, he looked tranquil, kind, and even holy. In the eyes of two visitors, he was nothing alike.

He walked silently and sat by the table, slowly pouring a cup of wine for himself.

"Sit." - the old man said. He wasn't rude, neither was he welcoming. In his opinion, that was appropriate behavior in front of the guilty.

Two people nervously sat down at the edge of the table.

"Where is she?" - he asked calmly.

"We don't know. We lost her, Supreme Elder." - said the man to the right. He had a lean, tall body and the most distinctive feature about him was a glaring mark on the forehead. A mark he tried to hide by the loose strand of hair.

"Lost? You have help from beasts and my divisions and you still lost her?"

"Supreme Elder!" - said the other one. He clearly wasn't afraid of the old man. - "We didn't even have a choice to interrogate people from the caravan! Your people are maniacs! It was them, the division enforcers you sent who killed everyone the saw just for a couple of words! How can you blame it..."

He wasn't able to finish speaking.

Supreme Elder put down the cup seamlessly, yet it produced a very accurate burst of formless force.

*Snap*

Bone creaking noise followed the twist of the man's neck. He died without even realizing how.

"I don't like noise in my quarters." - said Supreme Elder calmly and again lifted his cup. - "So, do you have anything more to tell me?"

"S-Supreme Elder, not that we can't find her, we just need more time..."

"Time." - said the old man, raising his eyes from the cup and staring at the man. - "Time is a precious resource. I can't squander it."

The man sweated profusely.

"Maybe we should first find a boy and extract information from him?"

"You think the boy will be easier to find? Foolish! Find me the girl and bring her here. Forget the boy, he is just a guardian chosen by the spirit beast clans. Nothing more. We don't need him. Have the noble clans agreed to our demand?"

"Y-Yes. They offered any possible help in exchange for..." - he was hard-pressed to tell the price. The man knew full well that the existence of Ambrosia was crucial to the development of the Spirit Hall. Supreme Elder's plan to fulfill the ambition of his heart was greatly reliant on it. But not voicing it was plain stupid. - "...Ambrosia. They want a barrel per clan every year."

He expected Supreme Elder to rage or kill him right here, but the reaction of the old man was totally different.

"Approved!" - his face was even happy.

'Was that one of his hidden intentions? To spread Ambrosia? Is he helping mankind? Bullshit. Something is wrong here.'

"Bring Ballak kingdom nobility under our control by the end of the year. Tell them I will reward the person who can find clues about the fox girl with two additional barrels. Personally." - Supreme Elder stood up and walked to the terrace. - "Check the route of the caravan. Place our spies in every little settlement along the way and contact every branch available. Even if it is a reclusive hut of a woodcutter, I want a team to report every detail. Sent a request for our informants in large cities and academies around the path. Let them check for unfamiliar people of... how old is she?"

"She should be about thirteen to fifteen judging by the description of her from Great Spirit Arena." - the man-made a mistake here, however, Spirit Hall never gained precise information about Na'er after the caretaker of the orphanage changed her outer looks to the real one.

They never knew her actual age.

"Post bounty request in every mercenary union and try to figure out her appearance. Maybe witnesses from Suotuo City can help. Well, you know what to do. If you need more people, I will grant it. If you need more money, you can use however many you need. But what you don't have the luxury to spend is time. I need her in my hands as early as possible. Do it, Kong Shan. Do it effectively and you will be rewarded. Fail me and..." - Supreme Elder smiled kindly with tranquil eyes. - "...you will be rewarded as well. Albeit differently."

Kong Shan wasn't keen on finding out the exact difference, as he knew he won't like it.

The man preferred to retreat from the tiger's den as fast as possible.

'I need to meet Her Eminence. Something is brewing.'