Chapter 313
"It seems we are at a standstill." The elder's eyes darted left and right at each corner.
"No one is leaving until we get the cure," Gale said.
The Path squad leader spoke up. "Look, we're already on overtime here. Just give us the vial and we'll leave you all to your little grudge match."
The elder turned his attention back to Gale. "How can you be so sure there is a cure?"
Kyle pointed at Yuxuan. "Why don't you ask that idiot beside you?"
The elder's eyes turned down to Yuxuan, who was on the ground, clutching at his rib. The wound on his lung had stopped bleeding after a couple of points were pushed around it. However, it was still clearly there, not healed yet.
"Explain what happened," the elder said.
Yuxuan grinned. "I don't know the details."
"You poisoned someone and you don't know the details?"
"I laced my sword with a substance that came from a Sombra fucker. That's all."
The elder's expression remained neutral. "Why would you do that?"
"Because it smelled like poison," Yuxuan said with a shrug. "A very potent one. Better than anything I could make myself."
"Where did you get it?"
"There was a dead body. Some Resonant who got caught up in Sombra's business." Yuxuan's smirk faded. "He had it in a dust vial on him. When I smelled it, I knew it was more potent than most of the poisons I've encountered. So I took it."
The elder was silent for a couple of seconds before turning back to face Gale's group.
"As you can hear, there is no cure," the elder said. "If this foolish one does not know the composition of what he used, then pursuit of this matter is pointless."
"Bullshit." Gale's grip on Erebus tightened. "If Yuxuan knows about poisons, he can probably create an antidote for it."
"Unfortunately, from your stubbornness, this is where our cooperation ends," the elder said. "The Wutang sect does not share their medicinal knowledge with outsiders. Even if this foolish one could create a detox, we would not give it to you."
"Then we have a problem."
"The problem is yours, not ours."
"Your side made the problem!" Rachel shouted.
"It is simply your operative's fault for not being strong and fast enough. She got caught due to her own weakness."
"You fucker!" Marine shouted.
The squad leader cleared his throat loudly. "Sorry to break up this touching conversation, but we're not getting paid for overtime. If you don't give up the dust vial that your boy stole, we start firing in five minutes."
The elder turned to face the Path agents. "The dust vial is just one of many. What is the point of your involvement over a single vial?"
"That vial came from a sanctioned distribution line." The squad leader's voice was flat, professional. "Normally, we'd just ask the Jiuling to pay for it and call it a day. But the United Knights are up our ass about not letting a single one get into the wrong hands."
"Wrong hands?" The elder's tone raised at the end of the last word. "We are here on official Jiuling business."
"Official business that didn't follow the natural order of paperwork." The squad leader pulled out his phone, tapping quickly. "According to our records, this operation was never registered with the Path. That makes it an illegal operation in the Americas. Which means you'd have to pay a fine and be ordered to release the dust vial regardless of your intentions."
"Very well..." the elder sighed. "I have 2000 aur coins on my person right now. Or do you prefer mundane currency? I can transfer 80 million RMB to let all this go and let us leave in peace."
The Path agents exchanged glances.
The squad leader pulled out his phone and typed something rapidly. The park fell silent for a while as he focused on his messages. After what felt like a couple of minutes, he looked back up. "Up it to 120 million RMB, and we can deal with the fallout with the United Knights on your behalf on top of letting you leave quietly."
"Done."
"You really believe them?" Clyde smirked. "You really think the sneaky Path would honour a deal like you just did?"
"Mind your own business. A verbal agreement is still a contract," the elder snorted, eyes turning to Clyde without his head turning. Turning back to Gale, he said, "the Path agents are now out of the equation. It is your squad against mine. You lack strength. There is no cure. This fight has become meaningless for you. What will it be, boy?"
Gritting his teeth, Gale saw the Path agents turn down their guns. If Yuxuan couldn't produce a detox, then it was a meaningless chase anyway... except it wasn't. The thread of corruption lingered too heavily on his being. He was hoping to at least cut off one of two vectors, but this old man had simply shut that door closed.
He looked to Rachel. She seemed unfazed by the threat the Mid-Harmonic had just uttered, yet the grip on her gauntlets had already loosened. The others were the same. All of them lost the drive to fight. If he chose to fight this meaningless battle, he'd just be dragging them to something they didn't want.
He nudged her once on the elbow, and her reply came in quick. A slow shake of her head. Essentially, she meant: Back off. Live to fight another day.
Gale didn't want to, but the decision wasn't his alone. They were lucky the elder didn't hurt them at all when he came in. In other words, they were granted mercy.
"Fine." Gale lowered Erebus but didn't dematerialize it. "We'll excuse ourselves."
The elder nodded with a small smile. "A wise decision."
Gale's eyes locked onto Yuxuan. "Clean your neck for next time we meet."
"I'll be waiting, Dark Hunter." Yuxuan laughed. His smirk returned even bigger than before. "Really sorry about your blonde friend though. She was pretty too. Such a waste."
Clenching his hands, Gale's grip made audible stretching noises as he fought the urge to just charge in and not give a damn about the consequences later. I'd just end this piece of shit if the others were safe and sound.
A small warmth tugged at him by the arm. Rachel pulled him back softly. "It's ok. Next time, ok?"
Gale nodded. Forcing himself to turn away, he began to walk. His team fell into motion behind him. Kyle holstered back his knife. Clyde put his sniper over his shoulders while Jeanne and Marine put away their own pistols.
By his side, Rachel locked her arms around his as she softly warmed the surrounding air. A small comfort to their team, but better than nothing.
The Path agents had already begun to leave, their weapons lowered as the deal was struck. The squad leader was on his phone again, probably arranging the money transfer. It almost looked as if the Path was about to hold up their end of the bargain.
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Presence Between saw otherwise. A small micro tug at the corner of the lips. A slight change of grip on the pistol of the squad leader.
They were almost at the edge of the park when it happened.
A gunshot cracked through the morning air.
Gale's head snapped around in time to see the bullet streak toward the elder. A shockwave round came from the pistol, imbued with enough force to make the elder clench at his jian's hilt.
For that single moment, his attention was to hold his balance to not get knocked away by that single bullet. And that was all Gale needed.
One Step activated. The world distorted at the corners of his eyes. Yuxuan was suddenly in front of him. As the elder was changing to move towards him mid motion, Erebus was already mid arc, creating a streak of darkness that devoured the mid portion of Yuxuan.
The elder was too slow this time.
Yuxuan's body separated. Guts, intestines, and blood spilled everywhere. His two legs plonked down onto the ground while the upper half of his body thudded on the soil.
The smirk on his face was gone. What remained was the anger and indignation in his eyes and mouth at what had just happened.
Only one thing was in Gale's mind. If this son of a bitch didn't have the cure, he might as well be cleansed. The next moment, the life in his eyes faded as his pupils unfocused.
[Yuxuan Lin felled.]
[Extracting Origin from Prey...]
[Description: Yuxuan was a once-in-a-century genius of the Wutang sect. Taught by the Tangmen to dabble in medicine, he was framed by his senior brother for delving into forbidden poison arts. He became hellbent on redeeming himself and taking the head of his senior brother for the disgrace he was put through.]
The elder screamed. Chaos erupted once again.
His signature flared and the weight of a Mid-Harmonic fell onto the environment. The Path agents all raised their weapons and fired at will against the Jiuling. However, the elder didn't care. His killing intent was set solely on Gale.
And Gale was already moving.
Behind him, the elder moved too fast.
One moment he was standing over Yuxuan's bisected corpse. The next, a jian was whistling toward his face. Erebus turned to mist. A shield formed, covering his whole body against the jian. Momentum carried by the stab launched him further away from the elder.
Turning his eyes to his side, the elder was already there, striking at him. Gale couldn't counter. Phase defense activated as the blade passed through him, causing the elder's eyes to slightly widen.
A yin yang formed a bubble around the elder. Another slice came at Gale's flank. Phase defense activated once again. This time, though, the sword made a small cut before passing through his phased flesh unharmed.
Most of the damage was mitigated, but a slight cut made Gale bleed. He needed to get out of the bubble.
Launching himself backwards, the bubble moved with the elder, continuing to trap him within it. Multiple arcs came from the jian, aiming specifically at his limbs.
Phase defense activated on each strike. The blade went through him, but not before creating a small surface slice on his flesh. None was aimed directly at his vitals or his torso.
The elder wasn't trying to kill him quickly.
Fire streaked across the elder's path. Rachel came in low. Fist punched towards the elder in a blast of fire, singeing the corner of his robes. Another punch came in high.
But a simple swish of the jian launched Rachel away into the air.
A single shockwave round punched through the air, aimed at the elder's forehead. It missed just before it made contact with his skull.
The next moment, an RPG round came in, whistling around the corner from Jeanne. Fire and debris exploded between the elder and Gale.
Gale took this chance to make some distance between himself and the elder.
Kyle blinked in from behind, both daggers aimed at the elder's spine. The old man didn't even turn around. His elbow snapped backward, catching Kyle in the chest and launching him into the air.
Marine whispered a binding sigil. Ropes of blue light wrapped around the elder's legs. He tore through them like paper, not even slowing down. Three more thermite rounds came in hot, one caught the elder's sleeve while the rest were deflected away in an instant from his jian.
"Enough games!" the elder screamed.
He moved.
Rachel went down first, a palm strike to her solar plexus folding her in half. Kyle and Clyde were next, the elder appearing between them and sending both twins crashing into each other with simultaneous backhand strikes. Marine and Jeanne collapsed as the elder's signature alone overwhelmed their defenses.
Then he was in front of Gale again.
The jian rose, and a yin yang symbol appeared right at the tip of the jian.
Gale tried to block. However, Erebus's mist transformation was too slow. The blade whistled through the air, its sharp point directly towards his jugular.
It was then a white gloved hand appeared that caught the point from its tip, stopping it just centimetres away from Gale's throat.
Turning his eyes around, he saw the familiar face of Gerard with his professional smile.
His signature blared a full Late-Mystic against the elder's Mid-Harmonic killing intent.
"That's enough," Gerard said.
"You dare!" the elder glared, trying to force the blade through the fingers.
A new signature came from behind the treeline, Late-Mystic, walking slowly towards the centre of the beaten and exploded park.
Gale's eyes turned slowly to where it came from.
A figure in pure white robes moved in between the Jiuling forces and the Path agents. Blue dragon embroidery traced across the fabric. The air shimmered around him, Qi so dense that it was visible to the naked eye.
His hair was pure white, yet his features were that of a young man in contrast to the elder who had almost killed him.
"Zhang Bai..." Kyle muttered from where he lay on the ground.
"Who?" Gale asked.
"Grand Elder of the Wutang sect," Rachel answered.
The elder immediately stepped back from Gerard, his head bowing. "Grand Elder, this boy killed our disciple!"
"I saw." Zhang Bai's voice was quiet, but it carried across the entire park. "Step back, Liang Wei."
Liang Wei obeyed as he gritted his teeth to stand behind the grand elder.
The underbrush of the park moved once again. A man in a tailored suit with a white scarf that went down his suit moved towards the centre of the park where Zhang Bai once stood. On his hand was a golden magnum, complementing the morning sun that had risen. His signature was also Late-Mystic.
Three Late-Mystics in one place made the whole environment feel even heavier, almost suffocating Gale and the rest of the crew as the three blared their signatures against each other.
"Shit..." Clyde hid his face with his palm. "That's Bruce Landsowne in person."
Kyle looked to Gale, "that's the Chamber Lord we talked about. Divisions 17-24 Director."
"I'm here for the dust vial. Nothing else, and I'd really like to get the fuck out of here," Bruce said with a yawn.
The Jiuling swordsmen tensed. The remaining Path agents on the ground looked up at their superior with relief.
Then two more signatures descended.
Esther Ann floated down from the sky as her fiery red hair billowed in the wind. She had no signature, but everyone, including the Mystics, all tensed when they saw her with a single gauntlet. She wore a simple blouse with jeans.
Beside her was Erin in her ethereal lab-coat like dress. She wore her usual blank expression.
The park fell silent.
As Esther's feet touched the grass, she walked forward until she stood an equal distance from Zhang Bai and Bruce. Gerard walked up to her and produced a cup and a teapot from who knows where. He poured it for her before giving it to her.
Taking the cup of tea, she took one sip and gave it back to him.
"好了，言归正传 —— 我们刚才在说什么来着?" (So, what were we doing?) Esther asked.
Zhang Bai spoke first. "把害死宇轩的小子交出来，归入武当门下，如若不从，后果自负。" (The boy who killed Yuxuan. Hand him over to the Wutang as a disciple. That is our demand.)
"想都别想 (not possible)," Esther said. "他早已归入安氏家族" (He's already part of the Ann family business.)
"那就烧了那狗屁契约，把人交出来。" (Then release him from your petty contracts.)
"做梦！" (No.)
"你们这些卑鄙无耻的安氏败类。" (You despicable Ann family!) Zhang Bai glared at Esther. "这般人物，竟被你们困在这龌龊门庭之中，交出他，以此偿还宇轩之死！" (You would cage such talent in your trash family! Hand him over in replacement of Yuxuan!)
"大长老？" (Grand Elder?) Liang Wei asked. "那小子理当偿命！" (The boy needs to pay with his life!)
"住口！" (Silence!) Zhang Bai said. "宇轩早已辱没我派声威，他的死是咎由自取。" (Yuxuan already disgraced the Wutang. His death was his own fault.)
Liang Wei grumbled but didn't comment anymore.
"归入武当门下，亦或是彻底消失，杀我门人，这便是代价。" (Either he becomes a disciple of Wutang, or he'll eventually disappear. That is the price for killing one of our disciples.)
"真是可笑。死的那位，不过是个被武当放弃的棋子，不是吗？" (Don't make me laugh. The one who died was an exile, was he not?) Esther asked. "至于你刚才的威胁，在我的地盘上，对我出言恐吓，你的胆子，倒是不小，大长老。" (And that threat. You're being very bold to threaten someone in my city, Grand Elder.)
Bruce Lansdowne cleared his throat. "Excuse me, some of us can't speak Chinese. If you want the Path to fuck off, I'd be willing to take 2000 aur coins. You can take that dust vial too if you want."
"Disgusting Path pigs. Did you not say 1200 coins was enough?!" Liang Wei shouted.
Bruce smirked. "Market changes rapidly, old man. It's up to 2200 now."
"大长老，我不妨与你做个公平交易" (I'll offer you a fair trade here, Grand Elder.) Esther said. "通途帮的价码，我担三成，余下的，你付。" (I'll cover 1/3rd of whatever the Path is asking, and you pay the remaining.)
"垃圾东西..." (Piece of trash...) Liang Wei muttered.
"为那瓶药粉，这交易算公道。" (A fair deal for the vial) Zhang Bai said.
"可...... 我们的弟子怎么办？" (But what about our disciple?) Liang Wei asked.
"此事，无需再查。" (The matter is not worth pursuing.) Zhang Bai turned to Bruce. "You will get your gold by end of day."
"Pleasure doing business." Bruce smiled, holstering his magnum. He turned around, nodded to the Path agents, and then left with them through the treeline.
Zhang Bai gave Esther one last look. Then he and Liang Wei departed, the remaining Jiuling swordsmen falling in behind them. They went through the broken path of the park and exited from view.
Esther turned to face Gale with a small smile on her lips, yet her eyes did not. "You now owe another debt to the Ann family."
"I'll do whatever I can to make up for it," Gale said.
"Grandmother!" Rachel stormed forward, her fists still clenched. "Why didn't you move in sooner?! All of this--none of it would have happened if you'd just come in earlier!"
Esther's expression didn't change. "It was solved, wasn't it? Don't be such a complainer, dear."
"Gale almost got his throat stabbed!"
"But he didn't, right?"
"So what! You could've came in sooner!"
"Woman of fire," Erin spoke up. "Calm yourself. There is progress with the recuperation of your comrade that you must see."
Rachel paused. "Progress? What progress?"
"The blessing she received from the Blue Moon is winning against the affliction. Come. We must discuss at the Ann Estate."