Along the way they took a few breaks, giving way to some leisure resting time, managing to reach the town before Shen Yu could feel the hunger pangs again.
With the border of town in sight, the spying eyes and killing intent disappeared like mist, no longer oppressing them like a constant threat. It was like a tide receding back, converging away from human civilization.
Although most wild races didn’t like to mingle with humans, Shen Yu believed there was something wrong with them, nothing was natural, everything was strange. And if he noticed it, there was no need to ask, Kai must have noticed even before himself.
Stepping onto a dirt road, Shen Yu wriggled his toes against the dry cracks, “That’s the gate huh…”
The towering gate enclosed a barricaded town, and the walled structure had a sturdy barrier made of mud and stone with several arrow slits that marked the embrasure, the height of which lied over 30 meters.
The wall was not a beautiful construction, nor did it seem to have any planned outline, but the foundation was stronger at the foot, converging towards the top. One could tell it was a load bearing wall of mud, reinforced with wood and other elements. From the looks of it, it had withstood several attacks from outsiders and had to be mended quite often. There were massive scratch marks as tall as Shen Yu’s and even small cracks as small as a nail.
With his sharp elven eyes, Shen Yu noted it all, he didn’t need to focus a lot to pick out the minute details. It was one good point of being an elf.
~
[12.3 Trillion Viewer Count]. [Barrage Heat: lukewarm]
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[Lavinda_45Black: They finally reached somewhere, looks like a desolate town to me, like in those post apocalyptic movies]
[SheraWhite: It’s midnight here, was going to sleep, but now I am wide awake again. hahaha]
[coldfrost_black: It always feels like watching a high definition holographic project, so interesting.]
[Lily_Gildheart: I just woke up and the best part is here, I wish the town will be welcoming to an elf and a warlock, I swear they are a strange combination]
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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When they reached the front row, where two guards stood behind a barricaded smaller enclosure, the barred window was the only way of communication, and Kai had to bend down to look inside as he talked.
As per the management and appearance so far, this town wasn’t very rich and could be said to be a small unknown town skirting the edge of a dangerous territory. Shen Yu hoped they won’t be targeted here.
“The gate has been closed, come tomorrow,” A rough voice spoke from behind the window, there was a hint of haughtiness in it.
“Hey brother, don’t be like this,” Kai laughed cheekily, “Just look at us, we aren’t thieves or thugs.”
“The gate is closed, please come tomorrow.”
“Aiya, don’t be like this, okay?” Kai softened his tone, very proper and gentle.
There was slight pause on the other side, as the man tsked at them, “Name?”
“Malcum.”
“Race, Gender, Identity Card.”
“Warlock, Male,” Kai spoke pleasantly, not even minding when the guard’s eyes widened a fraction, “here’s the pass,” he obediently handed over a silver card to the guard, who took it with shaky hands.
“P-Please wait a minute… sir,” the guard added at the end, his voice no longer held any airs, like all the previous arrogance disappeared into thin air. He instead hurried off in a flurry, leaving behind a swinging door which creaked and chirped.
Shen Yu was a little startled with this reaction, getting closer to Kai so he could whisper, “Was this Malcum very infamous among humans?”
Kai chuckled, awkwardly leaning over to slot his chin over the other’s head, he was close and sticky, Shen Yu could feel the vibration of his chest and neck when he spoke, “Malcum is a disciple of a high Warlock master who has a seat in the Light Council. As per tradition, Warlocks are infamous for their dark magic and crazy obsessions, but Malcum’s master is very powerful… and to maintain order, the Light Council gave him a seat.”
“Oh,” Shen Yu muttered, shoving Kai away as he rubbed off the goosebumps on his arms, “then that silver card is most likely important.”
Kai nodded, still eyeing the top of the fluffy head, as if wanting to press it, “Malcum is the weakest disciple of his master, reason why his master sent him off on a journey to make a notable potion, it would have been his first adventure and also a test…”
“But Malcum died in the forest, poor guy,” Shen Yu didn’t have much sympathy for him, but since Malcum was courageous enough to step out of his comfort zone to prove himself, there was a link of brotherhood between him and Shen Yu, so Shen Yu regarded him in a positive light. “So… will we go find your master on our way? Your master must know a lot about this world’s history and magic.”
Kai yawned as he listened, leaning on one foot in a lazy manner, “We will go there enroute to finding others, most of my subordinates are near the central city.”
Shen Yu perked up his ears, “Did you use the in-mission communication array? I heard it is effective in finding companions.”
Kai nodded, lazily showing the back of his neck which was marked with a dull black dot, which Shen Yu assumed was the array mark belonging to Kai’s faction. Although Kai acted alone, there were various rumors about him having sub teams working under him, they helped him complete a task without hindrance, but nobody saw the team meeting up together, or even if they did, the deed was done in secret.
Slightly curious, Shen Yu felt his stiff face forming a shallow smile, “That is good, will I meet them soon?”
Kai gave him a side glance and then snorted, “If you stick to me you will find out who they are…”
Shen Yu hummed, not asking again. He had only asked out of consideration, but he could hear the subtext in Kai’s side glance, Kai wanted them to be something solid, but despite having a foundation before, Shen Yu was reluctant to fully admit to it, because that meant he would not only accept a lifetime of partnership, but also a relationship that some might label ‘intimate’. Shen Yu wasn’t sure what that intimacy would lead to, it was just a pressing question without any solid conclusion.
Shen Yu wasn’t one who would run from certain formalities, but he knew that being with Kai was just like opening a pandora box. And being unsure of what was really going between them, it was best to keep things on hold. They had just reunited, and things should be taken slowly.
Because Shen Yu only asked for support towards his cultivation and had talked about taking help from Kai, Kai gave him his support even if it only looked temporary on the surface. Inside his heart, Shen Yu knew he would give in sooner or later, but he was still reluctant to fall into that well, and also, he was even more reluctant to let go, reason why he came after Kai, to ask for his help, and to ask for his support.
And he would never admit that he wouldn’t mind fully giving in to whatever was in store for him, because he did feel very bad after rejecting Kai’s offer a few years back, even now, even if he hinted at following Kai and being under his protection, he was actually still hanging from a loose thread that would snap anytime if there was too much imbalance in their relationship.
The disparity sometimes made him scared.
Kai was someone who knew people’s heart, and Shen Yu was pretty sure Kai had already deducted what Shen Yu would say or do in the coming 10 years. Although it was embarrassing to constantly draw a line, Kai didn’t really object to his decisions, so Shen Yu was happy to act along.
In the silence between the two, Shen Yu thought about a bunch of things, knowing that he was already walking on a path decided by Kai, but he had his own lantern to show the path and for the moment he didn’t require another’s torch.
Explosive as it was to be so decisive, Shen Yu also felt oppressed under the grove of his family, his clan, his friends, he wasn’t sure what they would think if they saw him and Kai forming a team so quickly. He feared that worst comes to worst, his clan would disown him, and his friends and family would leave him. What would he do then?
If that did happen, then the last fail-safe was Kai.
In this world, the first to care for him were his mother and sisters, then there were a few friends, and then there was an entirely separate entity from them, which was Kai.
Shen Yu had a balance meter in his heart, which he had formed during his academy days. One meter was full of friends and family, the other was filled with anything and everything that was Kai. It was rather sad, but Kai took care of him more than his friends did, and even his family couldn’t provide the same warmth and protection that Kai gave him.
Despite his mother and sisters always being there for him, and his brothers being their Tsundere self, they were still joined to the Shen Clan by several threads of fate. Even if Shen Yu gave up on his clan, his family won’t be able to do the same. Everyone was so entangled with each other; it would be hard to really depend on them in case Shen Yu lost his clan status. He didn’t want to hurt his mother and sisters, or even brothers. As such, even his friends were not in a position where they could fight against an old clan such as Shen.
Looking at the lazy and half-asleep Kai, who was sleeping like a horse, Shen Yu felt the ice in his guts melting away to form a warm puddle. It was bad to always depend on one person, what if Kai betrayed him? This question he had asked himself a lot since he met Kai, but however cruel he was in his thoughts, he couldn’t imagine that scenario. Maybe he was too biased, but it was okay to dream a little…
“What happened?” Kai asked in a throaty voice, startling Shen Yu, his left eye squinted as he took in his expressions and body language. Those curled fingers that were almost white, and that shifty bare feet, nothing escape his scrutiny, “Don’t look so aggrieved, people will think I bullied you.”
Shen Yu didn’t answer back, but he did stop thinking about his clan for once. Whatever was supposed to happen would happen, if things really didn’t go as planned, he would… “Kai, you accept disciples don’t you?”
Kai finally opened his eyes to take a proper look at the puny little kitten who was staring at him pitifully. Heh, he chuckled and leaned forward to take a closer look at the slightly moist eyes, “What’s up with you, I leave you be for a second and you start thinking random things.”
Shen Yu looked down at his feet, a little tense under the stare, “I…” he didn’t want to say that his clan might punish him or disown him if he got along with Kai and chose a random path like Medius cultivation… what if his clan was tolerant for the first time… “if I need…” what could he say, it was too embarrassing to say anything conclusive in front of others.
Secretly closing the session for a while, Shen Yu sighed with relief and then leaned forward, his soft lips parting dryly to whisper against Kai, “My clan may not like my decision, you know how they are…” he talked unskillfully, but did not give himself any chance to back down, “they dislike anything weak, anything ‘evil’ and anything that can be written off as improper, they have been like this since ages and don’t listen to reasoning.”
He felt himself becoming flustered as he spoke again, “…will you… w-will you,” his limbs were trembling as his toes curled, and half his body hung from Kai’s shoulder, “will you take me in if something happens in the Clan? You have a good position in your family right?” by the end of it, his voice became smaller and smaller with mortification. He dared not take a peek at that perfect face, nervously awaiting the other party’s judgement.
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[A/N] – I know this won’t do, but please accept the apology for my absentee again. Something happened in real life and I had to give my all to that cause. I am sorry. I will make up for it again, please await my updates ~ Thank you for being with me all this time.
No, it’s fine your real life affairs come first don’t worry about the rest.
Thank you for the translation. Are you fine ? It’s all that matters.
Thanks for the update – welcome back! No worries because real life comes first!
Hmm~ just how much gets transmitted because I’m sure his clan would not be pleased with his conversation going viral.
I have been away so long glad you came back. I’m off to catch up
It’s hard for me to read about the hero’s experiences of secondary shame… but in fact I love him because he is not omnipotent and omniscient. He grew up in a large clan, although he was not loved, his basic needs were fully taken care of. He is not equipped to live on his own and the fact that he goes through humiliation to ask for Kai’s help gives me great respect.
I really love him for the potential for personal growth that he has. Thanks for the chapter!